tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87006257981531114912019-05-21T19:56:23.181-07:00SAVAGE CINEMACinematic musings from your friendly neighborhood film enthusiastScott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.comBlogger744125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-76020688203642191242019-05-21T19:56:00.001-07:002019-05-21T19:56:23.169-07:00I'M WITH CHARLIZE!!: a review of "Long Shot"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rdh_y8mpGEI/XOHxM_SohrI/AAAAAAAAO8I/8RXYA-7PPNo0NLGxteTbEYWjE9ixuzmXQCLcBGAs/s1600/long-shot-tainia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="232" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rdh_y8mpGEI/XOHxM_SohrI/AAAAAAAAO8I/8RXYA-7PPNo0NLGxteTbEYWjE9ixuzmXQCLcBGAs/s400/long-shot-tainia.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>"LONG SHOT"</b><br /><b>Story by Dan Sterling</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah</b><br /><b>Directed by Jonathan Levine</b><br /><b>***1/2 (three and a half stars)</b><br /><b>RATED R</b><br /><b><br /></b>In our age of sequels, prequels, reboots, remakes, re-imaginings and the like, it has been darkly amazing to witness just how many films are not being made by mainstream Hollywood studios very much, if not at all, anymore. Case in point is the romantic comedy, one of the sturdiest genres in the history of film but one that has all but ceased to be in recent years as superheroes and all manner of multi-part epic franchises are ruling the box offices.<br /><br />Dear readers, I do have to say that the romantic comedy, or better yet, what the romantic comedy became, is not one of my favorite film genres, and in fact, it is a genre that I happen to find much to be frustrated with. Instead of movies that feature actual romance and comedy and are populated with characters that do indeed behave and carry emotions as relatable as anything you or I experience in the real world, we were given gluts of movies filled with self-consciously "wacky" plots and populated by the sorts of so-called "people" who never behave, think or feel like <i>any</i>one you would know <i>any</i>where in <i>any</i> world.<br /><br />Of course, we did have good to even great films within the 1990's and 2000's, from films like <b>Kevin Smith's "Chasing Amy" (1997), Stephen Frears' "High Fidelity" (2000)</b> and <b>Writer/Producer/Director Judd Apatow's </b>output including his own <b>"Knocked Up" (2007) </b>or his production of <b>Nicholas Stoller's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008), </b>but in a cinematic romantic comedy world dominated by the increasingly asinine entries like&nbsp;<b>Peter Chelsom's "Serendipity" (2001), Andy Tennant's "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002), Anne Fletcher's "The Proposal" (2009) </b>or <i>anything</i> starring <b>Kate Hudson,&nbsp;</b>those films left me so profoundly cold and more than a little irritated because why and when did falling in love in the movies become so...well...stupid, but more importantly, so un-romantic and desperately unfunny?<br /><br />Now, in more recent years, the romantic comedy has been creatively resuscitated in the independent film arena as works like <b>Nicole Holofcener's </b>lovely, aching <b>"Enough Said" (2013) </b>starring <b>Julia Louis-Dreyfus</b> and the late <b>James Gandolfini </b>and definitely, <b>Michael Showalter's</b>&nbsp;outstanding, multi-layered <b>"The Big Sick" (2017), </b>returned the genre to recognizable human beings with real, complicated, turbulent emotional worlds populating stories with legitimate romance and comedy.&nbsp; That being said, the sheer amount of those films has dwindled considerably, and to the point where even I, someone who has not been awaiting a new entry, have remarked to myself a certain bewilderment that we were actually not seeing those types of films with remotely the same frequency as before.<br /><br />With Jonathan Levine's "Long Shot," the romantic comedy makes a potentially big Hollywood sized splash of a return with the unlikely pairing of <b>Seth Rogen</b> and <b>Charlize Theron</b>&nbsp;in a film that the trailers almost made it appear to be essentially "Knocked Up 2." Thankfully, what Levine has devised is a no lazy retread but a film that not only honors the very best of the romantic comedy genre's history but it is also as wise as it supremely vulgar and quite often, longingly romantic in its own right, making for a enormously entertaining Springtime surprise.<br /><br />"Long Shot" stars <b>Seth Rogen</b> as Fred Flarsky, a political journalist recently unemployed as the agitprop newspaper he works for has been purchased by media mogul Patrick Weatherly (<b>Andy Serkis</b>), a figure whose moral compass flies completely in the opposite direction of Fred's. Convinced to accompany his best friend Lance (<b>a terrific O'Shea Jackson Jr.</b>) to a high society charity fundraiser, Fred is shockingly reunited with Charlotte Field (<b>Charlize Theron</b>), a childhood neighbor, babysitter and secret crush and who is now the United States Secretary Of State.<br /><br />For Charlotte, her already formidable life is about to make some grand changes. As the completely vapid United States President Chambers (<b>Bob Odenkirk</b>), a former television actor, has decided to not run for re-election so he can pursue a career in film (a very funny touch), he pledges his support for Charlotte should she decided to run for President.<br /><br />As she embarks upon an international tour, with her key staffers, Maggie (<b>June Diane Raphael</b>) and Tom (<b>Ravi Patel</b>) in tow, Charlotte impulsively decides to hire Fred as her speechwriter, much to the chagrin of her staffers.<br /><br />As the tour continues and Charlotte and Fred simultaneously rekindle and grow closer together, their status as a public couple is threatened by the realities of Charlotte's Presidential ambitions, which conflict greatly not only with Fred's impassive sense of political ideology and personal integrity but the purity of the hopes and dreams she held of herself while an adolescent.<br /><br />Jonathan Levine's "Long Shot," much like his strong <b>"50/50" (2011)</b>, is a mostly successful hybrid of the low-brow vulgar R rated comedy merged with real world issues, pursuits and obstacles. Where "50/50" delved into nothing less than a young man grappling with a cancer diagnosis and treatment and peppered the proceedings with all manner of four letter words and dirty jokes, "Long Shot" takes a refreshingly direct and gently satirical take with our 21st century political landscape while also delivering a brisk, breezy and surprisingly effective romantic comedy...and yes, with those aforementioned four letter words and dirty jokes fully intact.<br /><br />Levine certainly covered his bases by adhering to the romantic comedy structure of which we are all familiar. Additionally, the rapid fire dialogue of a <b>Howard Hawks </b>film, the earnest political fantasy of <b>Frank Capra</b> and <b>Rob Reiner's "The American President" (1995)</b>, the cheerful, rampant vulgarity of a <b>Judd Apatow</b> feature, and the mass appeal romantic populism of <b>Garry Marshall</b>, as set to the slow, swaying beat of <b>Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love" </b>from <b>"Pretty Woman" (1990) </b>is all clearly in the DNA of "Long Shot." And yet, Levine has not created a checklist and called it a movie for he has a real story to tell populated with real characters filled with real emotional inner worlds, adult sexual appetites and romantic longings.<br /><br />As previously stated, "Long Shot" is political fantasy, and while it is a comedy with satirical elements from the Trump-ish light version contained in the smarmy, media obsessed President Chambers, the ruthless Patrick Weatherly, clearly modeled after <b>Rupert Murdoch</b> and <b>Steve Bannon, </b>and to the misogynistic broadcasts of Weatherly's morning cable "news" show, itself a mock up of <b>"Fox And Friends."</b> While Levine does not nearly go for the throat as we have already seen in the rapacious, wrathful satire of <b>HBO's </b>recently concluded series&nbsp;<b>"Veep,"</b> Levine does indeed utilize "Long Shot" as a means to address aspects of our political culture and election cycle with verve, wit and insight.<br /><br />With the international tour and subsequent Presidential campaign of Charlotte Field, "Long Shot" explores our own cultural emphasis of personality over ideology with regarding our candidates, most especially when that candidate is a woman. While Charlotte Field has clearly ascended to her current post as Secretary Of State due to her brilliance and unquestionable political skills and moxie, she is also dismayed yet pragmatic enough to know how the political game is played due to wooing potential voters, who are more concerned with how she looks, walks, talks, waves to a crowd and ultimately, who she dates.<br /><br />Her hiring of Fred Flarsky, while impulsive, is due to his rigid political and moral ethics but, quite possibly as a nod to <b>Judd Apatow's </b>sprawling, dark&nbsp;<b>"Funny People" (2009)</b>, Fred is hired to punch up her speeches, thus making her more personable, humorous and therefore, attractive to the masses, and only <i>then</i>, might those same masses be receptive to her political ideas and ambitions.<br /><br />With regards to the love story, the growing relationship between Charlotte and Fred is hidden from public view because the sleek Charlotte Field dating the comparatively coarse, crude, windbreaker wearing, Gonzo journalist Fred Flarsky just will not poll well. In the case of each of these scenarios, we have qualities that do indeed threaten the romance that is building between them, as Charlotte's pragmatism clashes with Fred's often self-righteous sense of idealism and ethics in both politics and romance, making for a love story that is fraught with as much turbulence as pure human connection which is sprinkled with that romantic comedy fairy dust that I rarely accept but this time, I happily bought the fantasy.<br /><br />Granted, sometimes, the tonal shifts Levine attempts within "Long Shot" are a tad clunky but what keeps the film in its entirety firmly afloat is the surprisingly authentic chemistry between Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron--two individuals who I know I would never have though to pair together and now that I have seen it for myself, it was an absolutely perfect decision.<br /><br />For Seth Rogen, he is a much better actor than I think any of us may have ever given him credit for. Yes, he does indeed remain in his stoner persona wheelhouse, but somehow, he keeps devising ways to broaden, to subvert, to provide different layers to that persona and for "Long Shot," he delivers a certain depth that he possesses but is easy to forget is truly part of his arsenal--trust me on that point as his work in the aforementioned "50/50" and "Funny People" plus his excellent work in<b> Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" (2015) </b>for not just anyone can tackle the strenuous dialogue of <b>Aaron Sorkin</b> and Rogen more than handled that task like a champion!<br /><br />For all of his buffoonery, Rogen ensures that the character of Fred Flarsky is never depicted as a&nbsp; buffoon for he needs to be a realistic equal to Charlotte Field and it is through the character's devotion to his social/political morals and journalistic ethics plus the reasons <i>why</i> he has remained in love with Charlotte since early adolescence that gives the character his core and makes him someone to root for, to understand, to follow and to challenge.<br /><br />Yet for me, the brightest, shining star of the film is none other than Charlize Theron, who unquestionably dazzles in the role of Charlotte Field. While I am more than certain that there will be some who will either feel or question whether this character is yet another male wish fulfillment fantasy, I strongly proclaim to you that as I watched "Long Shot," I would have followed this character to the ends of the Earth and that was completely due to (again) the authenticity Theron brought to the character as she fully fleshed out a figure who was of course, striking in her beauty but also wholly commanding with her duties and superbly disarming with her empathy, humor, sexuality and most importantly, the existential crisis she undertakes during her international tour and growing romance with Fred.<br /><br />The core of Charlotte Field is that of an adult woman wishing, hoping, and worrying if she is up to the task of being the woman her 16 year old self aspired to become. In many ways, this is the same inner quandary explicit in <b>Cameron Crowe's </b>seminal, soulful&nbsp;<b>"Jerry Maguire" (1996)</b> as that film's titular character was forced to live up to the image of his best self as presented in his self-composed Mission Statement.<br /><br />With "Long Shot," Charlotte Field faces a similar trajectory as she is also confronted with attempting to maintain a sense of personal ethics, morality and integrity in a world unconcerned with such traits and for that matter, is practically expecting her to jettison them for the sake of grabbing that brass ring of being the first female President in the history of the United States. Even though Fred Flarsky is the continued push for Charlotte to keep her integrity intact, her greatest source of inspiration is <i>herself </i>and remembering just who she was that allowed her to become Secretary Of State in the first place, and furthermore, who just may be the person to get her to the White House.<br /><br />Again, I am unable to express enough high praise for Charlize Theron, an actress who has impressed me with her fearless ability to take creative risks and re-invent herself through her performances to the level where I have been repeatedly astonished with her immense abilities. To think that the person who was ferociously unrecognizable in <b>Patty Jenkins' "Monster" (2003)</b>, the one armed avenging, rampaging angel in<b> George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015)</b> and utterly fearless in two of her her teeth baring performances in <b>Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" (2011)</b> and <b>"Tully" (2018)</b>&nbsp;possessed expert comedic skills as well, lighting up the screen in a fashion that I have honestly never witnessed from her before, making her embodiment of this character pure gold.<br /><br />Does my high praise signal a desire from me for the full return of the romantic comedy genre? Well...not necessarily. But that being said, if those films can be made with the same conviction, heart, affection and humor as Jonathan Levine's surprising "Long Shot," I'd be more than happy to find myself back in a movie theater seat to screen one.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-82385186286188270372019-05-09T20:42:00.001-07:002019-05-09T20:42:14.616-07:00A REVELATION: a review of "Amazing Grace"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yt6oGiOJZ4U/XM-GlHLVdeI/AAAAAAAAO64/CtOgpoJOrdULxazcE2ykTTciQTutt-VtQCLcBGAs/s1600/Aretha-Franklin-doc-still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yt6oGiOJZ4U/XM-GlHLVdeI/AAAAAAAAO64/CtOgpoJOrdULxazcE2ykTTciQTutt-VtQCLcBGAs/s400/Aretha-Franklin-doc-still.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"AMAZING GRACE"</b><br /><b>Original 1972 footage Directed by Sydney Pollack</b><br /><b>Restoration Realized and Produced by Alan Elliot</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED G</b><br /><b><br /></b>In this very early cinematic year of 2019, I have just been a witness to the very best film of the year so far and it contains not one CGI image, the only special effect is the sound, power and dynamic reach of the human voice and its mere existence is essentially a movie miracle. "It makes me wonder what else is just sitting on a shelf somewhere," said an elderly gentleman to me as we were both leaving the screening. Yes indeed, it does make me wonder as well.<br /><br />But, at this time, I am just so thankful that this particular artifact, once thought to be lost and gone forever, has been rightfully released as "Amazing Grace" has proven, on a superlative level, that it is not only a testament to the artistic legacy of Aretha Franklin, who passed away at the age of 76 in 2018. It is a priceless document that serves as one of the finest concert documentaries ever made, a slice of life portrait of Black excellence during the early 1970's Civil Rights era, and the blissful destination where music and spiritual deliverance congeal and congregate.<br /><br />At this time, please allow me to deliver to you the backstory, in order to give the existence of this film the proper context.<br /><br />At the height of her initial fame, and with 11 number 1 hit singles under her impressive belt, Aretha Franklin decided to return to her musical roots and create a live gospel album. Collaborating with the equally iconic and Gospel music pioneer <b>Reverend Dr. James Cleveland, the Southern California Community Choir </b>as led by <b>Rev. Alexander Hamilton</b> as well as with her own band--which included <b>Cornell Dupree (guitar), Kenneth Luper (organ), Pancho Morales (congas, percussion), Bernard Purdie (drums)</b> and <b>Chuck Rainey (bass guitar)</b>--Aretha Franklin spent two nights at the <b>New Temple Missionary Baptist Church</b> in Los Angeles in January 1972 performing and recording what would become the double album <b>"Amazing Grace" (released June 1, 1972)</b>, which remains the highest selling Gospel album of all time as well as the highest selling album of Franklin's entire 50 year plus career.<br /><br />In addition to the recording, it was further decided to document the proceedings on film. Sydney Pollack, who at that time had already helmed the brutal Depression era dance marathon drama <b>"They Shoot Horses, Don't They" (1969)</b> and the <b>Robert Redford</b> starring wilderness Western <b>"Jeremiah Johnson" (1972)</b>, was hired to direct the documentary.<br /><br />While Pollack shot reportedly 20 hours of footage, there was an error during filming that prevented the completion of the movie. Clapper boards, a cinematic tool used to synchronize picture and sound at the beginning of each take, were not used, therefore making post-production synchronization essentially impossible, thus forcing the footage to be shelved for decades.<br /><br />Before Pollack's death in 2008, he turned over all of the footage to Producer Alan Elliot, who then took two full years with obviously more state of the art technology to fully complete the film that we are now able to finally regard today...<i>47 years </i>after the material was filmed.<br /><br />Dear readers, to behold the film of "Amazing Grace" in undeniably a treasure, a gift, a jewel. What Pollack and now Elliot have graciously realized is a true labor of love that arrives with no frills, no gimmicks, no ulterior motives or disingenuous commercialism at its core. For a time during which <b>Kanye West </b>promotes and performs what he deems as his <b>"Sunday Service"</b> concert with all manner of obscene odes to commercialism at its most vulgar all upon wildly garish display to his own sense of magnanimous ego, the "Amazing Grace" film and performance is exactly as advertised within its own title: a film of absolute grace and trust me, you will be powerfully amazed.<br /><br />With full disclosure, I am not one who listens to Gospel music and my time as a regular church goer ended in my late adolescence. Not for any reasons or displeasure with my church upbringing, an experience of which I harbor no ill feelings and even at the time, the worst I could even say about it was the fact of having to rise early on a Sunday and wear an uncomfortable suit.<br /><br />That being said, when I tend to think of spiritual matters in my adult life, I do often turn to mediums that assist me to make some sort of sense of the very aspects and elements our human brains are specifically not designed to make sense of. In this case specifically, I do often turn to the nature of music as being representative of what the voice of God, a higher power or another plane of existence might or could actually be. For what is inspiration and what does it mean to be inspired and to possess the ability to receive some inexplicable message and thus, generate something that had not previously existed into something that could be openly shared with the world? And what if what had been created and shared then reverberated through time and space itself, the fullness of its impact divinely unaffected?<br /><br />As I sat and regarded "Amazing Grace," those feelings and questions occurred to me over and over again. For here I was in 2019, watching an event from 47 years in the past and feeling an emotional fulfillment that I would imagine was akin to the very people who sat in that church on these two&nbsp; nights in January 1972 bearing witness to a performance that seem to nearly redefine what it means to be devotional and what it means to experience deliverance.&nbsp; <br /><br />What is utterly remarkable to me regarding Lady Soul herself, is how little she speaks in the film. In fact, as I think about the film, I don't think she says more than a few scant words! Essentially, the songs are expressing all she may have needed or wanted to say to her audience and fellow musicians. Rev. Dr. James Cleveland, however, served as a boisterous counterpoint to the comparatively reticent Aretha Franklin when they were not performing.<br /><br />Where Franklin was silent, reserved, possibly shy or simply existing in some sense of meditative state in order to fully receive the messages of the songs she was readying herself to perform, Cleveland was gregarious, often very funny and warmly personable, all the while seeming as if he was speaking directly to you as if standing together upon the sidewalk. Yet, when the two performed together, they were splendidly existing upon the same plane, with an equality of give and take that was as seamless as it was masterful.<br /><br />I loved the sequence where the song <b>"Climbing Higher Mountains"</b> is performed, for there is so much to experience in addition to the song itself, including none other than <b>Mick Jagger </b>on his feet with the congregation in the very back of the church, clapping along enthusiastically as we also can see Sydney Pollack himself directing his crew around the church to capture certain shots.<br /><br />It is a song where Franklin is completely in command while also showcasing herself and all of the singers and musicians functioning as one complete unit, where every piece and part is essential. Watch how, with a quiet firmness, Franklin directs the performance to stop and start again as she was clearly dissatisfied initially. But the synergy that occurs immediately thereafter!! Every member was in purposeful unison and in the fullest of voice and spirit (incredibly so for the choir who happened to be<i> seated</i> for this song) which then inspires the congregation to spontaneously rise and clap, leading to a crescendo which flows into a glorious, slower, more intense call and response coda section, starring Franklin and Cleveland in a split screen visual, allowing us to witness their expressions in real time at the same time. Outstanding!<br /><br />And I think that on a purely musical level, "Amazing Grace" announces itself as a spectacular concert movie landmark with unabashed confidence and on a level that deftly showcases the true roots of rock and roll while also displaying precisely where the sacred and secular can blissfully meet in intent, force, power and energy.<br /><br />Standing cinematic shoulder to cinematic shoulder with any sequence from the likes of <b>Matthew Wadleigh's "Woodstock" (1970), Mel Stuart's "Wattstax" (1973), Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" (1978), Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" (1984)</b> or <b>Prince's "Sign O' The Times" (1987)</b>, we are given one show stopping sequence after another. From the towering <b>"Mary, Don't You Weep,"</b> the ocean flow of the medley <b>"Precious Lord, Take My Hand/You've Got A Friend,"</b> the sublime cover of <b>Marvin Gaye's "Wholly Holy,"</b> soulful uplift of <b>"How I Got Over,"</b>&nbsp;the hurricane force, orgiastic fury of <b>"Old Landmark" </b>and even more, we are so often stirred and shaken to the point of eliciting involuntary physical and emotional responses throughout--the kind the very best music can produce. The hair raising chills, the arrival of goose pimples, quick bodily tics and even the arrival of tears, anything that alerts the physical of something great (or <i>greater</i>) at work that consumes and surrounds us unquestionably, possibly even nudging us to consider if our sense of free will has been overtaken.<br /><br />Beautifully, our own emotions work as in a call and response to the images contained within the film itself, as one performance strikes Cleveland with such strength that he ceases playing piano himself and succumbs into a flow of tears, an image which certainly is as staggering to view in our theater seats as Franklin's entire performance. And then, we continue to watch and listen to Aretha Franklin, who does indeed spend several songs singing with her eyes closed (!), allowing us to ask ourselves just what is she tapping into, and from where does her gift emerge.<br /><br />It was the sheer purity of the intent and therefore, the delivery and reception throughout "Amazing Grace" that infused the fullness of its power and undeniable grace. A sequence where <b>Rev. C.L. Franklin,</b> Aretha Franklin's Father, wipes the sweat from his daughter face as she sings, was a moment of sublime tenderness between parent and child, regardless of their respective legacies within the church, in music and social activism.<br /><br />And yet, it is this merging of the church, the music and social activism that also provides this film an even greater context beyond just existing as a document of a live album recording. "Amazing Grace" is a film that speaks directly to and is a product of the ties that inspired it. Remember, this film occurs only four short years after the assassination of <b>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. </b>as well as during the heart of the late 1960's/early 1970's civil rights era. This specific tenor of the times informs the songs Aretha Franklin performs and vice versa as the music is utilized to provide not solely a soundtrack to a movement but the most importantly, the soul.<br /><br />Aretha Frankin's song choices and commitment to her performances of said songs speaks directly to the divine and devotional, as the messages contained within the music are indeed the fuel to a people and a movement that promoted solidarity, perseverance, endurance, unity, empowerment, self-love and of course, R-E-S-P-E-C-T for ourselves from ourselves and the world at large.<br /><br />In doing so, "Amazing Grace" is ultimately a film about Black excellence made during and for distinct times when such messages demand to be seen and felt. It truly lifted me to see a sea of all of these natural afros within the church, the positive feelings abound, the sweeping emotions and the virtuoso musical abilities on display. Although it took 47 years for this film to be fully realized and able to see the light of day, perhaps it has arrived at the RIGHT time due to the dark times we are all existing within during the 21st century.<br /><br />And such is the astounding, revelatory experience that is "Amazing Grace," a film all the more remarkable that we are able to see today, especially as most of the principal participants have passed on. For those of you who may be reluctant to go to a film that harbors anything approaching the religious, trust me when I saw that this film is a non-denominational, fully open-hearted experience that will superbly rattle you, and raise you from your seats to send you flying high with arms graciously, lovingly outstretched.&nbsp;Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-66015838600488888302019-05-03T17:15:00.002-07:002019-05-03T17:15:15.273-07:00SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR MAY 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EZEtTBOo5IE/XMzO4bu4ANI/AAAAAAAAO48/fwfFeHk5OrcPMlnib50eZ0dfIpmxVNc9gCLcBGAs/s1600/15519682502019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="550" height="186" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EZEtTBOo5IE/XMzO4bu4ANI/AAAAAAAAO48/fwfFeHk5OrcPMlnib50eZ0dfIpmxVNc9gCLcBGAs/s400/15519682502019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I am stunned to discover that the movie featured in the above image is here in my city.<br /><br />Yes indeed, and especially now that the anticipation waiting for 'Avengers: Endgame" has passed--leaving me ready to see it again, I am excited to see something new and with that, what is new happens to be quite old.<br /><br /><b>"Amazing Grace," </b>the long lost yet recently discovered and fully restored 1972 feature concert film of <b>the late Aretha Franklin</b> as directed by <b>the late Sydney Pollack </b>is here and I have plans to experience it this weekend.<br /><br />In addition, perhaps May has the following to offer me...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YEi0kpHe5p8/XMzTCr7kw3I/AAAAAAAAO5I/XY_as-0XjMQzMk6FqbSpjVa38IN5OHO0gCLcBGAs/s1600/LONG-SHOT_Promo_1080x608.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="980" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YEi0kpHe5p8/XMzTCr7kw3I/AAAAAAAAO5I/XY_as-0XjMQzMk6FqbSpjVa38IN5OHO0gCLcBGAs/s400/LONG-SHOT_Promo_1080x608.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>1. "LONG SHOT" </b>Yes, it really has been an exceedingly long time since I have seen a romantic comedy, especially as they really are not being made anymore. While I am not actually waiting with bated breath for a new rom-com, the early reviews for this one starring <b>Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen </b>were high enough to make me curious.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDZySUXRQ4E/XMzWKj2nxII/AAAAAAAAO5U/e8nKKVuS6UAN8kFxoFGMo7np5ypVNdnagCLcBGAs/s1600/rocketman-movie-paramount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="550" height="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDZySUXRQ4E/XMzWKj2nxII/AAAAAAAAO5U/e8nKKVuS6UAN8kFxoFGMo7np5ypVNdnagCLcBGAs/s400/rocketman-movie-paramount.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>2. "ROCKETMAN" </b>What hath <b>"Bohemian Rhapsody" </b>wrought? Regular visitors to this site already know of my disdain and distaste for the wildly over-rated <b>Queen/Freddie Mercury</b> biopic and so now, we have a biopic for <b>Elton John</b> and <b>directed by Dexter Fletcher,</b> the filmmaker who completed "Bohemian Rhapsody" during that film's trouble production. I don't know about this but at least this film has been given an R rating...<br /><br />...we'll see.<br /><br />With that, I will keep my ambitions conservative and I will see you when the house lights go down!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-74610018374286908442019-04-30T20:15:00.001-07:002019-04-30T20:17:53.707-07:00MARVEL MASTERPIECE: a review of "Avengers: Endgame"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcMqCGNDy70/XMZAozulOCI/AAAAAAAAO4w/FDvV3-T4XtMq_ashXKudnfkbkjTZHrYmQCLcBGAs/s1600/190410-avengers-endgame-ew-232p_5cd0996d179a243889013eb8e7ebefda.nbcnews-fp-1024-512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcMqCGNDy70/XMZAozulOCI/AAAAAAAAO4w/FDvV3-T4XtMq_ashXKudnfkbkjTZHrYmQCLcBGAs/s400/190410-avengers-endgame-ew-232p_5cd0996d179a243889013eb8e7ebefda.nbcnews-fp-1024-512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"AVENGERS: ENDGAME"</b><br /><b>Based upon Marvel Comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by Christopher Markus &amp; Stephen McFeely</b><br /><b>Directed by Anthony &amp; Joe Russo</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b>One year ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was blasted completely apart to a cataclysmic effect with the SNAP heard and seen around the world in Directors Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's outstanding, devastating <b>"Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)</b>.<br /><br />Never in my lifetime of going to the movies had there been a conclusion to a film such as this one where the ending and ensuing cliffhanger had proven itself so grim and even traumatic. Face it, the worst and most wrenching escapist film cliffhanger in my past was the shocking depiction of seeing Han Solo, unable to be saved by his friends, captured and frozen in carbonite to be hauled away by a vengefully silent bounty hunter and framed in the lair of a grotesquely sinister intergalactic gangster. At least, he wasn't killed off, but still...<br /><br />That sequence had absolutely nothing on the climax of "Avengers: Infinity War," which saw the relentless titan Thanos (<b>so well performed by Josh Brolin</b>) achieve his personal endgame, to destroy 50% of all existence in order to attain a newfound balance in the universe. It was a film ending of unprecedented apocalypse, especially for something so mainstream, as we witnessed so many characters we had grown to love over the years on screen literally reduced to ashes and scattered to the four winds.<br /><br />And to take it further, the Russo brothers showcased the wider annihilation which was then countered by the film's haunting final image, an exhausted Thanos, seated and regarding the horizon with an expression of sated victory. It was chilling to say the least and I will never forget how the audience I saw the film with exited the theater in complete silence, perhaps because for a film series that we all attend in order to escape the brutalities of real life for a few short hours, the brutal real life reality of bad guys winning maybe cut too close to the bone. Clearly there had to be some uplift? Could this really be the end of our heroes?<br /><br />Now, one year later, we are here! The Russo's brothers' "Avengers: Endgame," a sprawling, lushly ambitious, rapturous climactic three hour epic not only provides the payoff to last year's set up, it lavishly brings the now 22 episode film series to a close..that is, before moving onwards in a Marvel Cinematic Universe forever changed.<br /><br />With an installment and accompanying expectations I would imagine most filmmakers would run away from rapidly, the Russo brothers' have embraced the challenge superbly as they have emerged with a miraculous display of dizzying, complex story-telling, special effects wizardry and palpable to even primal emotional heft and depth that assures that every single cheer and tear is unquestionably earned...and truth be told, tears flowed from my eyes several times throughout. Like the finest Marvel comics I read in my youth, the Russo brothers' "Avengers: Endgame" made me believe the wholly unbelievable as the characters I had loved from the page sprang to vivid, vibrant life with joy and awe, tragedy and triumph, making this film a veritable masterpiece.<br /><b><br /></b>Picking up shortly after the shattering events of "Avengers; Infinity War," the remaining members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are all in various stages of dilapidation as they face the loss of friends and loved ones in a new decimated world and universe.<br /><br />Tony Stark (<b>Robert Downey Jr.</b>) has holed himself up inside of a spacecraft to drift away and die in space. Thor (<b>Chris Hemsworth</b>) is succumbed with depression and guilt from not only the fallout from the battle with Thanos but also the previous loss of his home of Asgard. Natasha Romanoff (<b>Scarlett Johansson</b>), Bruce Banner (<b>Mark Ruffalo</b>), James Rhodes (<b>Don Cheadle</b>), Rocket the Raccoon (<b>voiced by Bradley Cooper</b>) and Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America himself (<b>Chris Evans</b>) continue to wrestle with comprehending the new reality while also attempting to determine if there is any way to reverse what Thanos has unleashed. And meanwhile, the diminutive Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man (<b>Paul Rudd</b>) remains trapped within the microscopic Quantum Realm and the retired Hawkeye (<b>Jeremy Renner</b>), has his own demons to chase down post Thanos' SNAP.<br /><br />Beginning with the arrival of Captain Marvel (<b>Brie Larson</b>), our remaining Avengers begin their seemingly impossible quest to defeat Thanos once and for all and restore the universe to its proper state in the process.<br /><br />While there is so much that I would love to discuss with all of you regarding this film, I will remain silent so as to not produce spoilers for those who have not been able to see the film yet. That said, what I will emphatically divulge is that Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's "Avengers: Endgame" is a film of spectacular entertainment and superlative storytelling. It is an enormous testament to the birth and growth of this particular cinematic universe over these past 11 years, as it miraculously ties together all of the strands, characters, events and plot threads of the 21 previous films into a cohesive narrative and experience that is worthy of everything that has come before while also providing enormous rewards for everyone who have embraced this film series over the years.<br /><br />Yes, it is as visually resplendent as you would now expect from a Marvel film but the Russo brothers wisely understand that a big, brash sound and light show is not going to satisfy audiences in the least. Taking grand cues from the high flying big budget films of the blockbuster heydey during the late 1970's through the 1980's plus their own inventive, creative work on past Marvel features<b> "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014), "Captain America: Civil War" (2016)</b> and the aforementioned "Avengers: Infinity War," the Russo brothers have placed their emphasis with characters and story first and foremost, therefore making the experience of "Avengers: Endgame" emotionally worthwhile and undeniably thrilling.<br /><br />Again, I am just amazed with the Russo's ability with having so many conceptual spinning plates revolving simultaneously and having the sheer confidence to plow full speed ahead, never fearing that even one would fall and crash to the ground. To have the ability and downright <i>chutzpah</i>&nbsp;to harness this many characters, locales and...ahem...additional elements, regardless of how big or small they fit into the Marvel lexicon, somehow, someway, the Russo brothers and their ace screenwriting team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely merged everything together like the finest team of magicians as they all sent our heroes on an adventure that makes <b>Producer Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" </b>series as well as the escapades in<b> Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (2010)</b> all feel like child's play resulting in a climax that does indeed feel definitive while also passing the baton for whatever arrives in the future.<br /><br />I am certain there might be some level of debate over the Marvel series and whether we actually <i>needed</i> to have 21 films to lead into this particular grand finale. Certainly there had to have been some installments that fell a tad short. For me, over these past 11 years, and despite how consistent the Marvel films have been overall, there have been a few that I have not been terribly enamored with&nbsp; (you will have to scour the Savage Cinema archives yourselves to discover which ones to which I am referring as I am thinking by even mentioning titles, that could inadvertently produce spoilers) as I have wondered if every film truly carried a necessity to the larger, over-arching Marvel narrative.<br /><br />With "Avengers: Endgame," one of the film's greatest achievements was how this film's narrative was able to wind itself through all that we have seen, therefore providing greater clarity to past films while simultaneously stretching further ahead in the narrative certainly but most importantly, in the evolution of the characters.<br /><br />And it is here, within that pure and brilliant Marvel fashion, where the Russo brothers understand beautifully what it is about Marvel that makes it so beloved to generations of fans and artists and that is the overall humanity that pervades the entirety of this universe. The Russo brothers understand that even though we are being subjected to the most superhuman feats, abilities and odysseys, what makes these adventures resonate fully is the prevalence of human foibles, fears and failings alongside their virtues and virtuousness all on display, qualities that give the sheer fantasy some much needed weight and gravity.<br /><br />The strength of the performances&nbsp; with int his series and this concluding chapter in particular is paramount to the success of the entire proceedings. Not the special effects...which are eye-popping. Not the set pieces, even as great as they are throughout this film, which is copiously loaded with one dazzling sequence after another. What makes "Avengers: Endgame" soar so spectacularly high is how the Russo brothers' strict attention to the characters and their relationships and histories with each other provides every moment, no matter how operatic or intimate, with an emotional truth that cements even the most fantastical sequences and characters with a realism that ultimately made for a film that was often enormously moving.<br /><br />Yes, the filmmakers absolutely nailed that classic Marvel Comics tone which always veers between bitter-sweetness, melancholy and tragedy. "Avengers: Endgame," despite its welcome and copious amounts of humor, is indeed quite a bleak and painful film, and rightfully so, as it is essentially dealing with the end of the universe (or half of it) with a conscious sense of wrenching grief and mourning. I appreciated this tactic and grim tonality greatly because the Russo brothers unapologetically took essentially two thirds of the film's three hour running time before finally addressing the results of the Avengers' plan to right Thanos' wrongs. In doing so, the gravity of the story continued to deepen, broaden and therefore, created the larger potential for thrills, for jump out of the seats cheering to a film that undeniably became awesome.<br /><br />I have often bemoaned my fatigue upon this site not with just the superhero film genre but with these big budget extravaganza films that always conclude with the now obligatory bombastic CGI drenched battle/war sequence, a trope so commonplace now that you can set your watch to it and be bored as you are being bludgeoned by the soulless sensory overload. It would not be a spoiler to say that "Avengers: Endgame" also possesses such a climax but unlike so many other films, the Russo brothers again fully <i>earn</i> their battle royale because they, their team and all of us in the audience have invested so much emotionally in these characters, making every special effects filled moment contain deep emotional resonance.<br /><br />Character by character, and with all of the other films providing all the necessary backstory material, we are given human beings with extraordinary abilities and courage, motivated by human concerns, frailties, fears, and even hope in the face of unending darkness. Here is where the performances from the entire cast completely rise to the occasion and they are all uniformly excellent.<br /><br />As Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, Chris Evans took what could have eternally existed as a wholly bland character and injected within him a profound sense of what it means to fight and be willing to die, not only for one's belief system, but for the betterment of humanity itself. Evans not only conveyed the proper strength and steadfast qualities necessary for Captain America, he also demonstrated rich abilities with illustrating subtle levels of frustration and the pain with being a man constantly out of his time and without the one true love of his life. And through him, the film concludes on an absolutely exquisite grace note.<br /><br />As Thor, Chris Hemsworth has gradually built and grown with the character who is an Asgardian God yet decidedly more human than he had ever realized. With "Avengers: Endgame," Hemsworth utilizes his charmingly light comedic skills to entertain greatly but also to shoulder an aching pathos and existential dilemma of a hero who has failed, who has lost and who is drowning in survivor's guilt and a seething sense of insignificance. It is a richly multi-layered performance that harbors both laughter and sorrow.<br /><br />I also enjoyed the increased range both Jeremy Renner and Paul Rudd were given to display, also deepening the emotional range of the film as a whole. And special mention must be given to <b>Karen Gillan</b> as Thanos' daughter Nebula, as she is given a truly meaty amount to dig into and she graces the film with one of its most complex performances.<br /><br />And then, there's Robert Downey Jr.<br /><br />I am remembering the first adventure in 2008, the first film with Iron Man and feeling so perplexed that Downey Jr., an actor I had more than admired for many years and who had fallen on hard times with issues no need to recount here, had been cast in the leading role. And I remember how I felt the moment the film ended and just how proud I was for Downey Jr. as he completely rocked the part so brilliantly. Now, we are here, 11 years later, viewing this actor in what is now his signature role and still, he continued to amaze as he mined new depths, new angles, new approaches to Tony Stark that showcased him as the unshakable, irreplaceable anchor to the entire series to date. Just outstanding to regard him one more time and in a film this magnificent.<br />&nbsp; <br />Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's "Avengers: Endgame" is marvelous, mountainous, and monumental. And after all of this high praise, I think the best thing I can say about it is that it is the very film that took me back to my childhood as I read my Marvel comics and the images in my head looked, sounded and felt exactly like every solitary second of this magical film.<br /><br />And furthermore, I wish to believe that somewhere our dearly departed <b>Stan Lee</b> is smiling broadly for these filmmakers have done his conceptual vision exceedingly proud.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-46095600656517620512019-04-16T18:49:00.001-07:002019-04-16T18:49:54.960-07:00DARK MAGIC: a review of "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T6Hb6gDG8EY/XLPEk8SWQbI/AAAAAAAAO1w/3FQ3-l1Fmqk9KS_IScdorWs6ClnZMzfsACLcBGAs/s1600/lead_720_405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T6Hb6gDG8EY/XLPEk8SWQbI/AAAAAAAAO1w/3FQ3-l1Fmqk9KS_IScdorWs6ClnZMzfsACLcBGAs/s400/lead_720_405.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD"</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by J.K. Rowling</b><br /><b>Directed by David Yates</b><br /><b>***1/2 (three and a half stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b>Now <i>this</i> was much more like it!<br /><br />Over two years ago, when we were first introduced to the adventures of Newt Scamander via the film <b>"Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them" (2016)</b>, itself the first installment of what is going to be a five part prequel series to the <b>"Harry Potter" </b>saga, all written entirely by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates, I was surprisingly underwhelmed. To be true, I was not exactly wringing my hands in anticipation over the prospect of a prequel series in the first place, but as Rowling who had more than earned my devotion through all of her writing to that point and had not let me down yet, I was willing to go with her anywhere she wished to take me.<br /><br />And yet, that first film, which possessed all of the ingredients for greatness, never achieved any sense of greatness--and not for lack of trying-- as it was all due to a leading character that was uncharacteristically bland and even unknowable, repetitive sequences of all manner of fantastic beasts escaping then being captured and then, escaping all over again and all in the service of a meandering and seemingly over-stuffed plot.<br /><br />Now, we arrive at Chapter Two, so to speak, and J.K.Rowling and David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" has proven itself to being a dramatic improvement over the first installment. Arriving with a greater heft, zest and an emotional urgency that often surprised me in its stirring vibrancy, I am now beginning to see, and therefore, <i>feel</i> the purpose behind this return to Rowling's hidden world of magical beings and creatures in a story set long before the young heroes of <i>Harry Potter </i>had even been born. Where I was once unimpressed, I am now considerably involved, and most of all, invested, as this film has excitedly prepared me fr the three future installments while also making me anxious to view this one all over again.<br /><br />Set in 1927, one year after the events of the previous film, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald," opens with the titular dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's (played with chilling malevolence by <b>Johnny Depp</b>) blistering escape from imprisonment at the Magical Congress of the United States Of America and his return to building his movement for the societal dominance of pureblood wizards over all non-magical beings. As part of his fascistic plan, Grindewald is in pursuit of the disturbed, tormented Credence Barebone (<b>Ezra Miller</b>), thought to have been obliterated in the previous film and whose whereabouts are unknown.<br /><br />Also in pursuit of Credence are American magical Auror Tina Goldstein (<b>Katherine Waterston</b>), who herself is being pursued by her telepathic sister Queenie Goldstein (<b>Alison Sudol</b>) and American baker Jacob Kowalski (<b>Dan Folger</b>), Queenie's secretive, non-magical lover, whose previously evaporated memories of the events of the first film have been romantically restored.<br /><br />And of course, we have our favorite magizoologist, the awkward, painfully shy and guarded Newt&nbsp; Scamander (<b>Eddie Redmayne</b>), now based in London and under a travel ban ordered by the Ministry Of Magic due to the explosive events of the first film. Newt reluctantly enlists himself to aid the formidable Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore (<b>now played by Jude Law</b>) in the pursuit of Credence, which itself will contribute to the fight against Grindelwald, with whom Dumbledore shares a difficult, complicated past.<br /><br />In a story that stretches from America to London to Paris, and filled with labyrinthine family histories, deepening mysteries, mounting doom, simultaneously sobering and terrifying political allegory and a profoundly sweeping and longing sense of romance and growing destiny, David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" is a more than worthy addition <i>and</i> extension of&nbsp; J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World as this second installment not only informs the first film, I greatly appreciated how meticulously Rowling conceived of a history to her own invented universe--much like <b>George Lucas' "Star Wars" prequel trilogy (1999/2002/2005)</b>--and therefore, how handsomely David Yates visualized that history.<br /><br />As with what we have all come to expect from this series of films, especially with each installment Yates has helmed, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" is a gloriously mounted production, filled end to end with seamless special effects, splendid production and costume design, and elegantly Gothic <b>Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. </b>Whether by greater intention or through the design of Rowling's narrative or even some combination of both, all of the problematic elements of the first film have been eradicated as Yates propels this second chapter with an intense verve that was instantly captivating, and only continued to keep me enormously involved, all the way to the film's startling conclusion/cliffhanger.<br /><br />All of the film's performances are first rate and filled with a commitment&nbsp; &nbsp;Mostly, and happily, I found myself greater attached to the character of Newt Scamander himself and therefore Eddie Redmayne's full performance, which I am now gathering is not necessarily a <i>leading </i>performance but one that is an essential piece of a larger ensemble and growing narrative. I struggled with this character the first time around yet this time, I firmly embraced him as I could now see him in a much clearer light as well as one that served a clearer purpose for the larger narrative as a whole.<br /><br />Indeed, Newt Scamander is that eternal misfit, the one who wishes nothing more than to be left alone to care for his fantastic beasts, perhaps seeing himself more as one of them and less as one of the human wizards he feels to have very little in common with. Close interpersonal relationships for him are rare as he is often so misunderstood and from his own vantage point, humans and their foibles, desires, and faults mean little to him. But he <i>is</i> human, living in a society of humans and what does his reluctance to engage himself within the larger world mean when that very world, and everything inside of it--including the fantastic beasts he loves so dearly--is threatened by a rising fanaticism and fascism? Are the sidelines he craves to cling to a realistic venture in a world like this?&nbsp;<br /><br />This quandary is precisely the one Dumbledore has presented to him and over the course of this film Newt is indeed forced to take an active role in the world he wishes to live in, or to eventually be trapped in a world he never made. It is here where both Rowling and Yates have inserted a strong cultural critique and political allegory, as Grindelwald's gradual rise to power and indoctrination of pureblood magical humans into his regime for the purposes of wrestling societal control over all non-magical people through divisive, fear mongering rhetoric showcasing the non-magical as the "other" to be subjugated and ultimately, eradicated. Sound familiar?<br /><br />Grindelwald's Nuremberg styled rally, depicted late in the film, is clearly designed to evoke responses and comparisons to the fascistic demonstrations of the past <i>and </i>present day, as are other plot points on this wizarding world of the 1920's including the illegality of having magical and non-magical people being able to wed (thus giving the relationship of Jacob and Queenie a more turbulent urgency) and Rowling and Yates also include something that is akin to elements of a slave narrative regarding the complex, intertwined blood lines that exist within the Lestrange family, as represented by Leta Lestrange (<b>Zoe Kravitz</b>) and the French-Senegalese wizard Yusuf Kama (<b>William Nadylam</b>), who is also on the hunt for Credence and may possess a familial connection to both Credence and Leta.<br /><br />For Newt, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" represents a moral line in the sand, and for that matter, also for Jacob, Queenie, and Leta, as they each reconcile themselves as to which side of history do they wish to align themselves; the side of fear, hatred, racism and totalitarianism or the side who fought, potentially to the death, against everything Grindelwald is and represents.<br /><br />Even with the precarious state of the world within this film, I was honestly surprised and therefore, greatly pleased that Rowling and Yates were committed to making time for love--albeit an aching sense of romantic longing that allowed "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" to possess an often painfully melancholic heart, much like what Rowling beautifully executed in the guise of her literary pseudonym <b>Robert Galbraith</b> in the current <b>"Cormoran Strike" novel, </b><b><i>Lethal White </i>(2018)<i>.</i></b><i>&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i>In addition to Jacob and Queenie, whose own relationship is severely tested during this film, we are also given Newt himself, torn by the memories of his past (and possibly lingering) love for Leta Lestrange, who is now engaged to wed Newt's older brother, the British Ministry of Magic Auror Theseus Scamander (<b>Callum Turner</b>). Additionally, there exist Newt's new romantic feelings for Tina Goldstein, who also quietly harbors romantic intentions for him in turn.<br /><br />We have the shadowy past relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, fully explained within the <i>Harry Potter</i> novels but I would not dare spoil here, of course and yet will undoubtedly have to play a larger role over the next three film installments. And then, there is the story of Credence himself, a figure desperately attempting to understand his own lineage and therefore why he was abandoned in the first place. Credence's search for what is his place in the universe, the existential journey of all of the film's characters, and therefore, for all of us as well.&nbsp;<br /><br />Enormously entertaining and strongly substantive, J.K. Rowling and David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" is the installment where this series begins to find its footing, suggesting (hopefully) greatness to arrive over the following three films while also creating a complete, and first rate, cinematic experience in this singular chapter.<br /><br />J.K., I knew you wouldn't let me down!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-40608178874065692742019-04-01T17:43:00.002-07:002019-04-01T17:43:45.541-07:00SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR APRIL 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YmuTST3irkY/XKKQhHI86XI/AAAAAAAAOwk/z5O5h5SfzzkU0oNX7gWdCvsZ-rTyhL1hACLcBGAs/s1600/avengers_4_trailer_1544192946871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YmuTST3irkY/XKKQhHI86XI/AAAAAAAAOwk/z5O5h5SfzzkU0oNX7gWdCvsZ-rTyhL1hACLcBGAs/s400/avengers_4_trailer_1544192946871.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The main event is almost here!<br /><br />While we can easily discuss and even debate the artistic legitimacy of having no less than 21 Marvel Comics films all&nbsp; now existing as lead-ups, <b>Directors Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's "Avengers: Endgame" </b>is unquestionably the one we have all been salivating to see, especially since the unpredictably devastating conclusion of <b>"Avengers: Infinity War" (2017).&nbsp;</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEuLhoh_JrU/XKKmd2Y_-FI/AAAAAAAAOww/zgZUMNWvGyQMXU0aWyP18PgmsNKzcR8uwCLcBGAs/s1600/endgame-logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEuLhoh_JrU/XKKmd2Y_-FI/AAAAAAAAOww/zgZUMNWvGyQMXU0aWyP18PgmsNKzcR8uwCLcBGAs/s400/endgame-logo.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>With a reported running time of more than three hours, "Avengers: Endgame" has been promised by the filmmakers to be the proverbial "line in the sand" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as this feature will draw to a close certain aspects and characters while setting the stage for what could follow from this point. Whatever the Russo Brothers have planned, it already feels that it will be one to remember as well as experience again and again.<br /><br />Surprisingly, and since this film will not arrive until nearly the very end of the month, I really have no other films planned to screen in my personal pipeline as the ones I know about have not sparked much of an interest.<br /><br />Although, there is one...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MO6DQPSvZ4o/XKKoHGzi4cI/AAAAAAAAOw8/agJP8gOI9hAh8vlAvW75mjcnimD4T4X1QCLcBGAs/s1600/MV5BNTE3YzQ3YjMtNjJlNy00M2U2LWFmZTItYzUzOGJiMmMyNTlhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQwMTY2Nzk%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C670%252C1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="670" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MO6DQPSvZ4o/XKKoHGzi4cI/AAAAAAAAOw8/agJP8gOI9hAh8vlAvW75mjcnimD4T4X1QCLcBGAs/s400/MV5BNTE3YzQ3YjMtNjJlNy00M2U2LWFmZTItYzUzOGJiMmMyNTlhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQwMTY2Nzk%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C670%252C1000_AL_.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>I stumbled upon a trailer for a new independent film entitled <b>"The Public," Written and Directed by Emilio Estevez</b>, which tackles the American homelessness crisis and the necessities of maintaining our public libraries...and after watching this trailer, I was very intrigued.<br /><br />Due to the relative "small-ness" of the film compared to something like "Avengers: Endgame" as well as the lack of arthouse cinemas, I am curious if this film will even make the theatrical rounds. But, if it does, and if it indeed makes it to my city, I would love the opportunity to check it out.<br /><br />With that, this is all I have planned but if something else should arrive, I'll try my best to patch it into this month's activities. So, as always, wish me luck and I'll see you when the house lights go down!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-49310414415300648922019-03-28T22:38:00.003-07:002019-03-28T22:38:26.398-07:00MIRROR, MIRROR: a review of "Us"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yX4X11LD3AE/XJg3qVEA-fI/AAAAAAAAOu0/h1FOB-JGchg4CdYVu0p-UtXhFfzFxWY-QCLcBGAs/s1600/us_movie_the_tethered_explained.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="825" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yX4X11LD3AE/XJg3qVEA-fI/AAAAAAAAOu0/h1FOB-JGchg4CdYVu0p-UtXhFfzFxWY-QCLcBGAs/s400/us_movie_the_tethered_explained.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"US"</b><br /><b>Written, Produced and Directed by Jordan Peele</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED R</b><br /><br />There is an expression that we all tend to utilize when confronted with another individual--usually a loved one--who is behaving in a manner unusual to how we tend to recognize, and therefore understand them. The expression in question that we use to describe the person behaving differently, strangely or even badly, is the following: "You don't seem like yourself."<br /><br />Over the years, I have come to view that statement as a complete fallacy for the simple fact that no matter how we may be behaving outwardly, no matter how different, strange or badly, no matter how incomprehensible we may seem, we are <i>always</i> ourselves...especially when our behaviors may seem to be bubbling up from the deepest, darkest recesses of our multi-faceted personalities and psyche.<br /><br />It is through this specific conceptual lens that I found myself staring through as I screened "Us,"&nbsp; Writer/Producer/Director Jordan Peele's second film and follow up to his box office behemoth, critical smash hit and Oscar winning social horror film <b>"Get Out" (2017)</b>.<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Certainly, for the purposes of this review and as a practice of Savage Cinema, I will refrain from any and all spoilers, but what I can tell you at this time is that Jordan Peele is the real deal as he has proven himself to not being a one-trick-pony and there is not one instance of the mythical "sophomore slump" whatsoever. With "Us," Peele has firmly established not only that "Get Out" was no fluke but that he is indeed one of our most inventive, imaginative and blessedly original filmmakers in a world of sequels, prequels, reboots, remakes and re-imaginings.<br /><br />"Us" is original indeed, as Jordan Peele takes the conventions and aesthetics of the psychological horror thriller and filters them through a ferocious social commentary that this time around is disturbingly grim to an apocalyptic degree. So deeply under my skin this film burrowed that I found myself driving home from the theater in complete silence as I needed to have the time and space to get my thoughts together as well as calm my spirits down from what I had just experienced.<br /><br />Jordan Peele's "Us" opens in the year 1986 as young Adelaide Thomas, along with her parents, visits a beachfront carnival in Santa Cruz. Adelaide soon wanders off and finds herself inside of a funhouse hall of mirrors, where she is confronted by her own doppelganger. Even though Adelaide is soon reunited with her parents, she remains severely traumatized and unable to speak about her experience.<br /><br />Flash forward to present day where the adult Adelaide (<b>Lupita Nyong'o</b>) is now married to Gabe (<b>Winston Duke</b>) and Mother to their two children, Zora (<b>Shahadi Wright Joseph</b>) and Jason (<b>Evan Alex</b>). With plans to travel to their Santa Cruz beach house for a summer vacation, as well as meet up with their friends, the perpetually argumentative and inebriated Josh and Kitty Tyler (<b>Tim Heidecker and Elizabeth Moss</b>) and their twin daughters, Cali and Noelle (<b>Becca and Lindsey Tyler</b>), Adelaide continues to grow more unsettled as the memories of her childhood trauma begins to resurface.<br /><br />And then, on one fateful night, a group of four, red jumpsuit wearing individuals appear in the family's driveway, holding hands. Soon, the home is invaded by the foursome who call themselves "The Tethered" and Adelaide and her family struggle to survive the night as they are under attack by these scissor wielding assailants who nightmarishly look like ghoulish doppelganger versions of themselves.<br /><br />With the arrival of Jordan Peele's "Us," we are graced with the realization that Peele has unquestionably become a new vibrant creative filmmaking voice filled with intelligence, invention and a fiercely committed intention to weaving purposefully multi-layered material designed to force us to confront the darkest recesses of our shared humanity while also entertaining and making us jump out of our seats in fright.<br /><br />With just two films, I am amazed with how quickly Jordan Peele has already established his own cinematic universe. While he extends and expands his visual palate to often striking degrees with "Us," both this film and "Get Out" are clearly playing off of each other with his filmmaking aesthetics. From the music from <b>Composer Michael Abels</b>, who also scored "Get Out," to the brilliance of Peele's entire Sound Design team and most certainly, <b>Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis</b> for the striking, almost hallucinogenic mirror imagery that fuels the film's themes of duality, I am unable to stress enough how much "Us" is delivered in a multi-layered style that makes for an experience that demands several viewings.<br /><br />As with his predecessor "Get Out," "Us" is best experienced with a modicum of information so as to not dilute the overall effect. That said, and for me, the ultimate effect of this film was profoundly unsettling. Unlike "Get Out," where Peele's social commentary about race, racism and being Black in a post-Obama America was the ingenious engine that drove that film, Peele wisely did not return explicitly to that conceptual well. Even so, the racial politics of "Us," while more subtle are no less seismic.<br /><br />As often announce upon this page, representation is everything and with "Us," Jordan Peele has given us a mainstream horror film that just happens to feature an African-American family in the leading roles as well as existing as the core of the film inits entirety. To that end, and in its own matter-of-fact aesthetic, Peele has delivered a window into an area of African-American culture that is not often presented: the image of an affluent, upper middle class, college educated,&nbsp;<i>two</i>-parent Black family with the ability to take a summer vacation and even purchase a boat--all aspects that are never even blinked at with films starring White protagonists. To that end, Peele's inclusion of cultural signposts such as Gabe's Howard University sweatshirt as well as the family's love of <b>Luniz's "I Got 5 On It"</b> were most welcome due to the utter normalcy of their presentation (despite Adelaide's odd inability to snap her fingers on beat...)&nbsp;<br /><br />Oh, how I wish I could express some more explicit thoughts about Peele's motifs within "Us," from the presentation of rabbits, the 1986 <b>Hands Across America</b> campaign, Adelaide repetitively finding herself chained, the recurring notion of events happening within 15 minute time frames (plus whatever you may have caught that I missed) but again, I do not wish to spoil.<br /><br />That being said, I do think that what I am able to present to you is the film's primary theme of the duality that exists within ourselves, no matter how virtuous or venomous we may be, either separately or simultaneously. What I am speaking of is essentially the darkest corners of ourselves, the areas of ourselves that we do not wish to legitimize but we all know exist within ourselves.<br /><br />In fact, at this time, I do invite you to please take a moment to do something that I am certain will be unpleasant for you. There is no need or request for you to share, but for right now, I am asking you to just ponder over your lives and experiences and take a moment to think of the very worst thing you have ever done, the ugliest thoughts you may have harbored, the very things about yourself that you would never, ever wish for anyone to know.&nbsp; The pieces of ourselves that we generally strive to temper, to contain and to even bury. Now that you have taken this moment, and fully understanding that even these reprehensible aspects are as much a part of you and I as our wonderful attributes, just imagine if those dark seeds grew and took a larger shape, either in yourselves or within society.<br /><br />For me, Jordan Peele's "Us" takes the concept of being's one own worst enemy to a grander, more insidious and even subterranean depths where the rapacious, shadowy souls that make up The Tethered serve nearly the same function as The Sunken Place in "Get Out"--the dark pit where we lose ourselves and are therefore consumed by some other hungry entity that has been wrestling for control.<br /><br />Here is where Peele infuses the bloodletting horror with an equally brutal gut punch of cultural social commentary: that even with as much affluence and objects of materialism we may surround ourselves with, no one is immune or safe from their own worst impulses. From here, Peele expands his scope as as "Us" made me think about how our darkest selves have been manifested throughout social media and comment threads, where the lens of anonymity has emboldened so many to cast any sense of caution, decorum, respect, dignity and humanity to the four winds and spew every conceivable vomitous thought.<br /><br />And certainly, what of our social political discourse in the Trump era, leading with the Commander In Chief himself, continuously emboldened by the roars of his adoring crowds as well as any perceived political victories, to continue to unapologetically fire off everything from innocuous insults to blusteringly blown dog whistle language which then emboldens supporters and true believers to do the very same in the real world, thus inciting increased fear, division, wrath, anger, and rage. With that, Jordan Peele's "Us" extends largely from a stylish, grotesquely effective horror thriller into a punishing societal warning that our apocalypse will not only arrive from our own hands but if we continue upon this path, it will be imminent.&nbsp; <br /><br />As his conduits, Peele struck gold with his entire cast, who all perform double duties as their primary characters plus their shadow selves of The Tethered. Yet, Lupita Nyong'o performance as Adelaide and her shadow self known as Red is remarkable to behold and I have to say that her physical <i>and </i>vocal mastery in both roles is gradually becoming more apparent to me as I recall the film...also a tremendous reason "Us" demands subsequent viewings.<br /><br />You know, I think I may have expressed more than enough as I urge you, even those of you who are not horror film fans (like myself as I give the genre a wide berth generally), to see a ferociously original film that speaks directly to this moment in time in our shared existence in the 21st century.&nbsp; Jordan Peele's "Us" is a film of even greater intensity than "Get Out" as he has indeed ratcheted up the scare factor and the violence (bloody but not gratuitous). But it is also a film of great humanity through its artistry, humor and overall humanity despite the dire and doom throughout.<br /><br />And for me, it is already one of 2019's very best films.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-56027946043390202912019-03-19T19:11:00.003-07:002019-03-19T19:11:45.658-07:00BLAST FROM THE PAST: a review of "Captain Marvel"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hDhOtN7CtFI/XI7iUtqxIGI/AAAAAAAAOt4/5MIBzMMvAmMZp_qNA5iHjqtHyaPuDgaHgCLcBGAs/s1600/c7b6a9f1-a704-4fc0-8249-3ed94105f491-VPCTRAILER_CAPT_MARVEL_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hDhOtN7CtFI/XI7iUtqxIGI/AAAAAAAAOt4/5MIBzMMvAmMZp_qNA5iHjqtHyaPuDgaHgCLcBGAs/s400/c7b6a9f1-a704-4fc0-8249-3ed94105f491-VPCTRAILER_CAPT_MARVEL_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"CAPTAIN MARVEL"</b><br /><b>Based upon the Marvel Comics series created by Stan Lee &amp; Gene Colan and Roy Thomas &amp; Gene Colan</b><br /><b>Story by Nicole Perlman &amp; Meg LeFauve &amp; Anna Boden &amp; Ryan Fleck &amp; Geneva Robertson-Dworet</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by&nbsp;</b><b>Anna Boden &amp; Ryan Fleck &amp; Geneva Robertson-Dworet</b><br /><b>Directed by&nbsp;</b><b>Anna Boden &amp; Ryan Fleck</b><br /><b>*** (three stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>With only a tad more steps forwards before we arrive at <b>Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's</b>&nbsp;<b>"Avengers: Endgame," </b>we have to take several steps backwards.<br /><br />While that statement was not necessarily designed to speak to the overall quality of Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel," the latest addition to the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would also not be mistaken to attribute a critique to that statement either. With "Captain Marvel," what we have here is a film that takes bold steps while also functioning as yet another placeholder before the <i>real</i> main event. Its slightly akin to doing some more homework before being allowed to go to the party.<br /><br />That said, what Boden and Fleck have achieved, and quite deftly, is a more unique and subtly feminist take upon the well worn origin story and classic Marvel styled existential crisis, making for&nbsp; a most formidable hero, and for quite a lengthy stretch of "Captain Marvel," I felt that the film would be equal to her. But, even the most powerful superhero in the universe is not impervious to the cliches and trappings of the comic book film genre.<br /><br />Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel" reaches backwards in time nearly 25 years to 1995 during which Earth finds itself caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two extraterrestrial species, the militaristic race known as the Kree and their arch-adversaries, the shape-shifters known as the Skrulls.<br /><br />Kree soldier Vers (<b>Brie Larson</b>), who serves under the command of Yon-Rogg (<b>Jude Law</b>), her mentor and trainer, suffers from nightmares and fractured memories of Earthling Air Force pilot Carol Danvers--a person whose life she is unable to recognize. During a skirmish with the Skrulls, Vers is subjected to a mental probe thus triggering more submerged yet fragmented memories. Vers soon escapes and in her battle with the Skrulls, she crash lands in a Los Angeles Blockbuster Video Store.<br /><br />Investigating the disturbance at the video store is low level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (<b>Samuel L. Jackson</b>) and recent recruit Phil Coulson (<b>Clark Gregg</b>) who immediately become embroiled in the Skrulls' relentless pursuit of Vers, thus forcing a team-up between Vers and Fury.<br /><br />Utilizing her extracted memories, and through a series of crucial reunions, devastating betrayals and indispensable new alliances, the existential mysteries of Vers' true identity and history will all formulate into the realization of her fullest potential and capabilities as Captain Marvel, a hero poised to end all wars for the good of the universe.<br /><br />Now 21 films strong, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is firmly established as the top tier with regards to our comic book movie genre as they are consistently handsome productions that are exceedingly well cast and more often than not, superbly plotted and executed with skill, imagination and with <b>Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" (2017)</b> and <b>Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's "Avengers: Infinity War" (2017)</b>, a deeply surprising and enormously welcome amount of personal vision and storytelling risk taking.<br /><br />Where Marvel has its considerable faults lies in the fact that there is a certain sameness to the films regarding character arcs, plotting, visual aesthetics and the fact that at times, that aforementioned feeling of doing homework creeps in, especially, when all you may be wishing for is that forward momentum instead of having to learn more rules, powers, weaknesses and dynamics to fully understand not only the film you are watching but also to see how it will lock into the expanding building block nature of the series as a whole.<br /><br />At its very best, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel" is both refreshingly ambitious as well as sharing a certain tedium, which honestly never settles in until the obligatory extended climax. As with all of the past Marvel features, Boden and Fleck have helmed a glistening production, augmented by strong performances (the chemistry between Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson is warmly engaging), seamless special effects (the de-aging process for Jackson and Clark Gregg is especially stellar), and armed with a quiet confidence that felt to be breezy in its sly, matter-of-fact style, which did add a welcome droll sense of humor to the proceedings overall.<br /><br />With its placement within this Marvel film series, Boden and Fleck have delivered an installment that essentially serves as a sequel <i>and </i>a prequel as "Captain Marvel" simultaneously sets up the stage for the events to come in "Avengers: Endgame" by crafting a dual origin story of both our titular heroine and Nick Fury, who in this film is 25 years younger and has the usage of both of his eyes (although we do learn how he does come to wear his ever present eye-patch).<br /><br />I definitely appreciated how Boden and Fleck did not utilize a heavy hand with any sense of '90's nostalgia as "Captain Marvel" is indeed a (gulp!) period piece. All of the details (especially the music selections) felt to be true without turning the film into a funhouse parody of 1995, a very wise decision so as to not become a distraction while also providing some clever pop cultural touchstone humor (I chuckled at the slowness of floppy discs loading information into computers compared to the instantaneous speed of 2019--ahhh memories!).<br /><br />At its very best and most ambitious, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel" is indeed a dazzling statement that should really put the horribly misguided misconception that films about female superheroes as the leading characters are creative and box office poison to rest once and for all. In fact, and in comparison to <b>Patty Jenkins'</b> outstanding <b>"Wonder Woman" (2017)</b>, I feel that Boden and Fleck have created an even more subversively feminist cinematic experience than Jenkins (although I do feel that Jenkins made an exceedingly better film).<br /><br />Essentially, with "Wonder Woman," any sense of a feminist statement was wrapped up entirely within the film's title as well as the character's name. For "Captain Marvel," we have a comic book film starring a superhero who just happens to be a woman. At no point within the film do any characters comment and reflect upon Vers' womanhood--and for that matter, <i>any </i>of the film's female characters from Kree to Skrulls to Earthlings, most notably Vers/Carol Danvers' best friend and Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau (<b>Lashana Lynch</b>), her daughter Monica (<b>Akira Akbar</b>) and definitely, the wonderful <b>Annette Bening</b> who appears in an extremely pivotal role regarding Vers' existential journey.&nbsp;No woman is objectified or sexualized and are all presented as steadfast individuals all fighting for their respective causes--just as if all of these characters had been portrayed by men.<br /><br />But all of that being said, all of these characters <i>are </i>women and <i>that </i>in and of itself is a powerful form of representation that is not typically witnessed within mainstream motion pictures and definitely not within big budgeted franchise productions. And just as with "Wonder Woman," I can only imagine what seeing this film feels to young girls to witness and unquestionably adult women who have seen more than their fair share of blockbuster movies without any significant women represented whatsoever. Taking that in mind, Boden and Fleck's approach is indeed more subtle in its vision but no less powerful than what Patty Jenkins accomplished with "Wonder Woman."<br /><br />The existential journey of Vers/Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, like all of our Marvel heroes, is a voyage of self-discovery and the realization of one fullest potential. Yet to see this journey represented by a woman was palpable, certainly as much as what we all experienced with "Black Panther" and its representation of African culture, history, political structure and technology&nbsp; juxtaposed against the lives of African-Americans cut off from our own culture and history through enslavement. In short, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's"Captain Marvel" is the rare Marvel film that is actually about something other than heroes and villains.<br /><br />With many terrific sequences that are as primal as they are psychedelic and presented courtesy of beautifully edited suites by <b>Editors Elliot Graham and Debbie Berman</b>, we are given the full odyssey of Vers at key moments in her life that reverberate, repeat, play off of each other and build like repetitive movements within a jazz or orchestral composition. In some ways, "Captain Marvel" served the same purpose as a film like <b>Harold Ramis' "Groundhog Day" (1993)</b> as we are given key moments that continuously repeat themselves through Vers' life until she is at last able to piece the fragments of her memories together, merge them with her life in the present to fully determine who she will become in the future.<br /><br />Who am I now? Who was I? Who am I destined to be? Again, the signature existential journey/crisis of all Marvel heroes (as well as for all of us in the audience) but again, to see it in full representation by a woman felt refreshing to say the least.<br /><br />And even within the story itself, there are these crucial, and again, subtle touches that I thought were speaking to the female experience in a male dominated society. What I am referring to is how the Kree, through their training of Vers, continuously instruct her to keep her emotions buried in order to exert the fullest amount of control as a soldier. During the course of the film, we discover the complete intent of those instructions from the Kree but what emerges when Vers finally taps firmly and unapologetically into her emotions and combines them with her already formidable abilities, is a woman at her most invincible.<br /><br />Brie Larson, with her wry charm and adorned for much of the film in a baseball cap, leather jacket and <b>Nine Inch Nails</b> t-shirt, perfectly embodied this character who demonstrates that Captain Marvel is at her most indestructible when her emotions join her ingenuity, strength, fearlessness, boldness, relentlessness, agility, integrity and empathy--a discovery she arrives at through a powerful love for herself, her friends and compatriots and the universe itself. And when her hands and eyes begin to glow like the brightest light of the sun and she soars through the galaxy as the unstoppable force of nature she is, that is when "Captain Marvel" begins to soar...sort of.<br /><br />As previously stated, one of Marvel's weakest points with their films has been their climax sequences, which more often than not exist as sound and light shows and do not provide the sense of awe and exhilaration necessary to send you out of the theater high above the clouds. Now, this aspect is not exclusive to Marvel as it is indeed more of a symptom of 21st century movies as these bombastic conclusions are just the norm and often, to a numbing degree.<br /><br />For Marvel, it is the ending of CGI overdrive that we have seen literally 20 times over and in doing so, this did rob "Captain Marvel" of some of its power and its tremendous sense of good will it had so richly earned over 75% of the film, and most of the film's action felt akin to a now classic chase thriller like <b>Andrew Davis' "The Fugitive" (1993)</b>. I guess what I am saying is that I needed the film to continue to ascend as Vers continued to <i>become</i>&nbsp;her greatest self and what was received felt to be more of a leveling off and the stagnated move ending cataclysm that has become the standard, for better or for worse.<br /><br />And so, with Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel," here we are at the precipice of "Avengers: Endgame" with the entrance of the hero who was sent a distress call at the conclusion of "Avengers: Infinity War." While her debut solo entry was not as grand of an entrance as it could've been, it was strong enough to warrant the following...<br /><br />...Thanos had <i>seriously</i> better watch his back!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-12587997467406968162019-03-05T19:06:00.006-08:002019-03-05T19:06:59.232-08:00 ONCE THERE WERE DRAGONS: a review of "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yLPqFv-25VI/XHx1h3RhKsI/AAAAAAAAOsU/m2hnfMNcP4EkiESl1AhU4YVFDavTW3iuwCLcBGAs/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yLPqFv-25VI/XHx1h3RhKsI/AAAAAAAAOsU/m2hnfMNcP4EkiESl1AhU4YVFDavTW3iuwCLcBGAs/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD"</b><br /><b>Based upon the book series by Cressida Cowell</b><br /><b>Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois</b><br /><b>*** (three stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG</b><br /><b><br /></b>With all due respect to my beautiful grey cat named Rigby, I wish to take some moments to speak about my sleek black cat named Jada.<br /><br />Jada has been my beloved friend for almost the full 14 years of her life. She is a very mischievous cat, one who always races away from me should I attempt to capture her for an embrace. Yet once fully retrieved, she is a ball of affection, kneading and purring profusely, her wet nose pushing gently at my glasses, the top of her head making forceful connections with my chin. Typically, she is an especially quiet cat as she is nowhere near as talkative as Rigby. But by mealtimes, she more than makes her presence and demands for food known. Jada has a ravenous appetite, gobbling up her daily meals within what feels to be a blink of an eye and then races away to the basement door behind which sits Rigby who is leisurely eating his meals, the very meals that Jada would devour herself if she could somehow break through the door.<br /><br />Jada is pleasantly plump but do not let a little chubbiness fool you as she is still able to fly through the house at the speed of light.&nbsp; She trails (or herds) me wherever I go. She often sits near me in an old black chair as I write these reviews. She sleeps alongside me in bed. And on the living room love seat each night, Jada has permanently claimed her space with me, whether next to me or on top of me as she drapes her body over my shoulder, stretching her front legs and paws down my chest towards my stomach. While she can exude such sweet loyalty, she can definitely be more than a little cross as her tail can deliver several slow, curling warnings to not disturb her rest, especially if one of her enormously expressive eyes opens into a furrowed slit.<br /><br />I have taken this time in describing my blessed companion because when I first saw <b>Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders' </b>masterful, resplendent <b>"How To Train Your Dragon" (2010)</b>, the first chapter in the film trilogy involving the young Viking Hiccup and his unexpected friendship with the sleek, black Night Fury dragon named Toothless, there was one moment in particular when Toothless curled up for a rest, eyes and tail settling around himself and I vividly remember remarking to myself, "<i>That's</i> Jada!!!" And in turn, as I am unable to help myself, I will often call Jada "my little Toothless" as she regards me with a quizzical expression before settling down over my shoulder once again.<br /><br />And so, I have to admit that I was <i>a little</i> apprehensive to see Dean DeBlois' "How To Train Your Dragon; The Hidden World," as it is indeed the final chapter in the story of Hiccup and Toothless. Of course, as I had adored the original film as well as DeBlois' superb <b>"How To Train Your Dragon 2" (2014), </b>I was more than thrilled to see a new episode. But as I had loved the friendship of Hiccup and Toothless so very much, complete with its reminders of my own relationship with Jada, I was unsure as to how emotionally powerful such a conclusion would potentially be.<br /><br />Yes, with "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," Hiccup and Toothless' journey does indeed reach its enormously effective and tender hearted conclusion but that being said, the film in its entirety does not quite scale the extreme heights of its predecessors. This is certainly not a quality that ultimately derails all that had arrived before, and this third installment is not a disappointment whatsoever. I feel that overall, DeBlois has unquestionably created a fine ending to an especially classy film trilogy during an era where so many films, animated or otherwise, have forsake the art in favor of commerce. With "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," we are given a film that&nbsp; show us handsomely how the two can co-exist.<br /><br />Picking up one year after the events of the second film, which concluded with Hiccup (<b>again voiced by Jay Baruchel</b>) becoming the Chief of his Viking village of Berk and Toothless ascending to becoming the Alpha of all dragons, the island of&nbsp; Berk has now become over-populated with dragons due to Hiccup's rescue missions with his dragon rider friends and all in the service of his dream to create a full human/dragon utopia.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the evil Grimmel the Grisly (<b>voiced by F. Murray Abraham</b>), in cahoots with warlords, holds in captivity a white Night Fury dragon, who will be used as bait to attract and capture Toothless, thus leading to the full destruction of the dragons in their entirety.<br /><br />After surviving an attack on Berk by Grimmel, Hiccup decides to lead his village and the dragons to "The Hidden World," a secret, safe haven for dragons to exist peacefully, a world once described to him as a small child by his now deceased Father Stoick (<b>voiced by Gerard Butler</b> in flashback sequences).<br /><br />And as for Toothless, his life takes quite the unexpected turn once he does meet the white Night Fury (dubbed a "Light Fury"), and who soon reciprocates his affections. But as Night Furies mate for life, what does this new romance mean for the friendship between Toothless and Hiccup?<br /><br />Just as with the previous two installments, Dean DeBlois' "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" is a meticulously detailed, lushly animated, lovingly realized escapade with a powerful attention to story, character, locale and emotion. Additionally, I continue to be engaged with the variety of dragon species presented in the film, each type given its own distinct personalities and attributes.<br /><br />To that end, I appreciated how DeBlois has allowed his human characters to grow with each film, and with regards to "The Hidden World," Hiccup takes an even larger stage into his adulthood as he deeply wrestles not only with how he chooses to lead the Vikings as their young Chief, undeniably within the shadow of his deceased Father, but also his building romance with the courageous, spunky Astrid (<b>engagingly voiced by America Ferrera</b>), a love story that foreshadows their future marriage and eventual co-leadership of their tribe.<br /><br />Of course, the enormously beating heart of this film lies within three interlinked love stories. In addition to the aforementioned union between Hiccup and Astrid, we are of course invested with Toothless and the Light Fury, which in turn fuels, informs and advances the central love story between Toothless and Hiccup to its beautifully earned tear stained finale, a conclusion that wonderfully plays into the mythology of dragons and precisely why we are unable to view them anymore.<br /><br />With the luxurious Toothless, who for me, has been one of the most captivatingly realized animated creatures I have been fortunate enough to witness, I continue to be thankful and amazed with how DeBlois has refused to make him "cartoonish," so to speak, always treating him as if he were a real, living, breathing member of the animal kingdom with his own characteristics, behaviors, attributes and qualities that are completely idiosyncratic to himself and his species...as well as with the Light Fury.<br /><br />I adored their romance, their dynamic with each other, their humorous mating rituals and dance of attraction which literally takes to the skies in several of the series' breathtaking, dazzling flying sequences. And again, the animation is simply astounding as both Toothless and the Light Fury communicate without spoken words and entirely through stunning body language that does indeed communicate all we need to know to understand their courtship.<br /><br />To that end, we completely understand precisely why the Light Fury does not trust Hiccup, for why would she as she has been held captive, and will soon be killed by humans? To that end, and most urgently, we understand the quandary that Toothless faces as he is forced to choose between his love and his best friend. And animals being animals, hard wired through DNA to be whom they are, the choices are inevitable even as both he and Hiccup are equally afraid of having to confront farewells.<br /><br />Even with all of this wonderment, I was softer on this film than the previous two chapters essentially because for every thing that indeed happens within this film, not terribly much happens. In fact, "The Hidden World" quite often reminded me of my feelings with <b>Pixar and Lee Unkrich's "Toy Story 3" (2010)</b>, another highly entertaining, exceedingly emotional film that also felt to be more than a little padded as the rampant hijinks that took up much of the film did feel to contain more than a little conceptual wheel spinning.<br /><br />With "The Hidden World," I had the same emotions as so much of the film is essentially a series of ambush attacks and escapes and all at the service of sustaining a fairly generic good vs. evil battle with a fairly generic and frankly, uninteresting villain in Grimmel the Grisly. Because of this quality, the film dragged a bit when I felt it should have continued to soar.<br /><br />In retrospect, I wonder if this film even needed to have a villain at all! What if the film simply excised Grimmel and kept every other element? That would've altered some of the frame work of the series as the Viking battles have been integral to the overall plot and dragon mythology. But even so, perhaps if the film&nbsp; had been even more daring and riskier, it could have had a greater potential with being something more triumphant that what it actually was.<br /><br />The beauty of this series has always been the core relationship between Hiccup and Toothless and therefore, a mirror to the bond we formulate with our animal companions every day. With Dean DeBlois' "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," I could not help but to think about if Jada, Rigby and I were ever to be separated for an especially extended period, and then, if we were to be reunited, would they remember me? Would all that I gave to them throughout our lives be returned back to me? Or were the feelings of love just projections I placed onto them to invent a bond that truthfully never existed?<br /><br />In my heart, I feel that Jada and Rigby would remember me, for sometimes, when Rigby sees me after a time when we have been apart, I look to his eyes and his gaze honestly feels as if he hasn't seen me in a year, when it has only been a few hours in a day. And also, when, on a Friday night, after yet another achingly long week, as I ease back to rest upon the love seat, Jada will blissfully appear, climb me, settle in upon my shoulder and begin to purr emphatically, as if she is soothing me for the night in a fashion that feels to be nothing less than nurturing.<br /><br />Our bond with animals is something that exists of such purity and while I will never understand it, I remain so thankful to be a part of its power and exquisite grace. With "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," it is unquestionably this very power and exquisite grace that is paramount and provides a level of ache, sorrow and uplift that is truly rare for any film, animated or otherwise. The film's final moments are crystalline in their utter beauty and in doing so, Dean DeBlois celebrates and upholds the bonds we create and share with animals brilliantly, for these are the bonds which are unbreakable.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-46374876655844610652019-03-01T02:49:00.002-08:002019-03-01T02:49:50.466-08:00SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR MARCH 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNZ4KJCB0GE/XHiNw2Q01bI/AAAAAAAAOqo/FPfdd9MgFWgn3VFlVZ2b17JKy6YPAup6wCLcBGAs/s1600/image.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="714" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNZ4KJCB0GE/XHiNw2Q01bI/AAAAAAAAOqo/FPfdd9MgFWgn3VFlVZ2b17JKy6YPAup6wCLcBGAs/s400/image.webp" width="400" /></a></div>Now that everything regarding the 2018 movie year has officially been completed with the Academy Awards and my own Savage Scorecard series residing in the recent past, I can now fully focus all of my energies upon the 2019 movie year, which this month already houses two extremely anticipated films.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALpkCgPdS-w/XHiRd5WZNjI/AAAAAAAAOq0/r25zQEHlEBI7lOzUZKa1SUS80ViBBGibACLcBGAs/s1600/200x200.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1019" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALpkCgPdS-w/XHiRd5WZNjI/AAAAAAAAOq0/r25zQEHlEBI7lOzUZKa1SUS80ViBBGibACLcBGAs/s400/200x200.png" width="400" /></a></div>At this point, I would be hard pressed to think of too many other movies yet to be released this year that are as anticipated as <b>Writer/Director Jordan Peele's "Us,"</b>&nbsp; his follow-up to the astounding <b>"Get Out" (2017)</b>. As I have always said, I tend to give horror films a wide berth as I typically do not enjoy the sensation of being scared. BUT...This is Jordan Peele we're talking about and with one film, I am ready to follow him anywhere. So, let's hope Peele does not&nbsp; hit the dreaded "Sophomore slump" with his latest feature.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L4CW4kKFuhE/XHiUYpoFCyI/AAAAAAAAOrA/uKx5Lb_13JQcus8CgTwhf7z63yAtXTmNACLcBGAs/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L4CW4kKFuhE/XHiUYpoFCyI/AAAAAAAAOrA/uKx5Lb_13JQcus8CgTwhf7z63yAtXTmNACLcBGAs/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Of course, there is also the latest<b> Marvel Comics </b>entry, the 1990's set <b>"Captain Marvel"</b> starring <b>Brie Larson</b> in the titular role and what will also be the precursor to the upcoming Avengers movie in April 2019.<br /><br />With those two movies plus <b>"How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," </b>this is more than enough for me to sink my teeth into this month. So, as always, please do wish me good luck and god health and I will see you when the house lights go down!!!&nbsp;Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-1390677504400446832019-02-22T16:58:00.002-08:002019-02-22T16:58:28.329-08:00SAVAGE SCORECARD 2018: MY TOP TEN FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018At last!!! We have reached the top, my personal Top Ten Favorite Films of 2018. As always, I have listed where you can find the full reviews for each film should you wish to read them.<br /><br />Let's get started!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyULmc2cKQ8/XGkDr7m4dLI/AAAAAAAAOnE/K_ReXsZDdBAcUqLaaW082dCB259kHoZuACLcBGAs/s1600/the-favourite-007_tf_02038_rgb_wide-0c8d894ede6bc8500be7dec201eb0836bd720677-s800-c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyULmc2cKQ8/XGkDr7m4dLI/AAAAAAAAOnE/K_ReXsZDdBAcUqLaaW082dCB259kHoZuACLcBGAs/s400/the-favourite-007_tf_02038_rgb_wide-0c8d894ede6bc8500be7dec201eb0836bd720677-s800-c85.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>10. "THE FAVOURITE"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY YORGOS LANTHIMOS</b><br />Rapacious and wrathful. Ravenous and feral. Unapologetic and unrepentant. And absolutely, bloody brilliant. Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite" is the historical costume period drama that I really have a strong feeling that we have all wished to see as he ruthlessly showcases all of the raw emotions and reprehensible actions that would otherwise be repressed.<br /><br />With a startling trio of fearless and rightfully Oscar nominated performances from <b>Olivia Coleman, Rachael Weisz and Emma Stone</b>, as characters all jockeying for power and control over each other while navigating various levels of greed, jealousy, self-righteous entitlement, enraged self-preservation, "The Favourite" is tremendously and refreshingly unorthodox in its open display of gluttonous, lusty, profane vulgarity--a perfect juxtaposition of the regal surroundings and royalty of the characters. While easily his most accessible feature to date, Lanthimos continues to provoke and challenge as he weaves a social satire that just may be designed to mirror the sheer, unrelenting ugliness of our current political dialogue by driving his characters and us in the audience deep into the figurative and literal filth of things and the effect is wildly, provocatively liberating and even surprisingly poignant to view and, I would imagine, for the actors to perform.<br /><br />Yorgos Lantimos' "The Favourite" is a viciously fang baring dark comedy that plunges its venomous bite repeatedly and rapturously.&nbsp; <br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed December 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDAGeJY5R58/XGkEbu9EMSI/AAAAAAAAOnM/6_-db1YXga4_XRC5I6db2Kkvp-bCAl1aACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen-Shot-2018-06-22-at-10.53.18-AM-900x538.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="900" height="238" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDAGeJY5R58/XGkEbu9EMSI/AAAAAAAAOnM/6_-db1YXga4_XRC5I6db2Kkvp-bCAl1aACLcBGAs/s400/Screen-Shot-2018-06-22-at-10.53.18-AM-900x538.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>9. "THE HATE U GIVE"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY GEORGE TILLMAN JR.</b><br />George Tillman Jr.'s excellent, pitch perfect adaptation of the outstanding debut novel from Angie Thomas, is an urgently stirring and sobering standout that explores with deftness and honesty the realities of racial code switching, police brutality and racial profiling, the urgent necessity of the survival of working class Black communities and Black families, the legacy and continuation of Black activism and all at the center, a fully three dimensional 16-year-old Black female leading protagonist we would follow absolutely anywhere.<br /><br />The story of Starr Carter (<b>a sensational Amandla Stenberg</b>), who lives in the fictional working class Black community of Garden Heights yet attends school in a wealthy, predominantly White prep school and becomes a first hand witnesses the brutal murder of her childhood friend/first love by a White police officer is an up to the minute and piercingly humane message from the Black Lives Matter movement to a world that still refuses to regard the full value of Black people as human beings. And in addition, we are not only given another outstanding portrait of a Father/daughter relationship but of involved, engaged, loving and protective Black Fathers as <b>Russell Hornsby's</b> performance as Starr's former gang member/ex-con now neighborhood grocery store owner named Maverick was award worthy.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed November 2018)</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pXydwq1Q71g/XGkE2sX1VnI/AAAAAAAAOnU/lo4sofB5aBwnJKi3Tf8VE8jU8-Dmwj16gCLcBGAs/s1600/eighth_grade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="900" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pXydwq1Q71g/XGkE2sX1VnI/AAAAAAAAOnU/lo4sofB5aBwnJKi3Tf8VE8jU8-Dmwj16gCLcBGAs/s400/eighth_grade.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>8. "EIGHTH GRADE"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BO BURNHAM</b><br />Meticulously observed, richly perceptive, deeply aching and featuring an impeccable, remarkable leading performance by <b>Elsie Fisher</b>, Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade" is a marvelous slice-of-life film so astute and accurate to the turbulence and fragility of life at the end of Middle School that it nearly functioned as a documentary.<br /><br />Fisher stars as Kayla Day, as we follow her through her final week of eighth grade as it is filled with all manner of painfully awkward situations and relationships with her classmates as well as with her single Dad (<b>a lovely Josh Hamilton</b>) and mostly, her vibrantly alive inner world which is fretfully, anxiously, hopefully trying to make sense of herself.&nbsp; In addition to housing another excellent Father/daughter story, Burhman has also utilized "Eighth Grade" as a powerful cultural commentary about our societal addiction to social media and how, as a result, we have become more disconnected and cripplingly lonelier.<br /><br />Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade," so sad yet still hopeful enough to illustrate that this time of life can be survived, was so authentic that it gave me PTSD flashbacks to my own year in eighth grade.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed August 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxeU3rPJnA0/XGkFPWJN7kI/AAAAAAAAOnc/Ho9xnGb_bA0r9bOaOBT_p-bn3iN302NKACLcBGAs/s1600/MV5BYjZkYzYwNmQtNjk3ZC00Y2M2LThhY2EtODIzOThiNDJmMTk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQW1yb3NzZXI%2540._V1_CR227%252C0%252C1323%252C744_AL_UY268_CR81%252C0%252C477%252C268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="477" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxeU3rPJnA0/XGkFPWJN7kI/AAAAAAAAOnc/Ho9xnGb_bA0r9bOaOBT_p-bn3iN302NKACLcBGAs/s400/MV5BYjZkYzYwNmQtNjk3ZC00Y2M2LThhY2EtODIzOThiNDJmMTk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQW1yb3NzZXI%2540._V1_CR227%252C0%252C1323%252C744_AL_UY268_CR81%252C0%252C477%252C268_AL_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>7. "ISLE OF DOGS"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY WES ANDERSON</b><br />With all due respect to those of you who still adore Pixar and especially those whose collective jaws dropped with <b>"Spider Man Into The Spider Verse,"</b> but I am sorry, Wes Anderson's "Isle Of Dogs" was not only one of the very best films of the year, it was without question, one of the most original films of the year, animated or otherwise.<br /><br />As for originality, it should be celebrated that in our time of sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, and everything being based from a previously released book, cartoon, toy or amusement park ride, "Isle Of Dogs" emerged from nothing else other than the zestful, unfiltered imagination of Wes Anderson.<br /><br />This tale of a dystopian Japan set 20 years in the future, where dogs have been exiled to the isolated Trash Island due to a mysterious "dog flu" for which there is no cure and is feared will transfer to the human population. Yet, the determined 12-year-old Atari takes to the skies towards the island to find his dog and is soon befriended by a quintet of abandoned canines (<b>voiced by Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban</b> and in a terrific performance, <b>Bryan Cranston</b>). This by itself would be more than enough for any film but Anderson ingenuously delivers a storytelling feast involving conspiracy theories, Japanese folk tales, non-linear storytelling structures, a 12-year-old American exchange student freedom fighter, cannibalistic dog pack, kidney transplants and whatever else flowed through his feverishly inventive brain and every little detail worked tremendously.<br /><br />As for a work of animation, "Isle Of Dogs" is resplendent and especially so as a work of the painstaking process of stop-motion animation. The amount of visual details within each and every frame of this film is staggering and I feel is just a gift to behold for my eyes luxuriously soaked in every beauteous image.<br /><br />And yet, it is not all just canine hijinks, as Wes Anderson, true to his idiosyncratic form and dry, droll wit has indeed lovingly crafted a dark, melancholic affair that speaks directly to the bonds shared between ourselves and all of our animal friends, plus also existing as an allegory to our real world stresses of climate change and immigration. This is a deliriously inventive work more than worthy of our collective celebration as it is a cinematic universe unlike any other and created and presented with boundless energy, zeal and blissful imagination.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed April 2018)</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2nfaLJI6uE/XGkFcN76MZI/AAAAAAAAOng/2vhuh3PpzIk6UpjcMLUyps432PfjbCw7wCLcBGAs/s1600/7fda852e-6177-47b6-b1f8-2122e49e2b2d-180910-if-beale-street-could-talk-hero_rl8zxx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="970" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2nfaLJI6uE/XGkFcN76MZI/AAAAAAAAOng/2vhuh3PpzIk6UpjcMLUyps432PfjbCw7wCLcBGAs/s400/7fda852e-6177-47b6-b1f8-2122e49e2b2d-180910-if-beale-street-could-talk-hero_rl8zxx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>6. "IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BARRY JENKINS</b><br />A work of staggering elegance, grace, pain and palpable tragedy, Barry Jenkins' follow up to his&nbsp; Oscar Best Picture winning <b>"Moonlight" (2016)</b> is the sumptuous adaptation of the <b>James Baldwin</b> novel which was not only a stunningly languid film about the Black experience, it was far and away one of 2018's most artfully humane films.<br /><br />Set in early 1970's Harlem, this story of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (<b>KiKi Layne</b>) and 22-year-old Alfonso "Fonny" Hunt (<b>Stephen James</b>), whose tender, pure romance is supremely tested when Fonny is wrongly arrested and imprisoned for rape is a testament to the power, strength and most importantly, the endurance of love within Black romantic relationships and Black families within a cruelly indifferent and punishing White society.<br /><br />With its non-linear structure, luxurious tempo, luscious cinematography and <b>Composer Nicholas Breitell's</b> sweeping, aching score which evokes the sound of Black American sorrow itself, "If Beale Street Could Talk" is a film of devastating beauty, tremendous empathy, and mournful truth. It is indeed a work of art so lavish that it exists as a richly expressionistic tone poem.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed January 2019)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGEpLmaUhok/XGkHpsZjC5I/AAAAAAAAOnw/0m7y_adzA3I44Z79bvDPbNNqxvY0e_-DQCLcBGAs/s1600/_31702bca-cdfb-11e8-b6ee-f919934f6f9c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGEpLmaUhok/XGkHpsZjC5I/AAAAAAAAOnw/0m7y_adzA3I44Z79bvDPbNNqxvY0e_-DQCLcBGAs/s400/_31702bca-cdfb-11e8-b6ee-f919934f6f9c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>5. "A STAR IS BORN"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BRADLEY COOPER</b><br />It is rare that a film just flat out announces its own sense of greatness from the very first frame. Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" is precisely one of those very rare films and this one was an undeniable powerhouse. Itself the <i>fourth</i> remake of the classic rise and fall musical drama, Cooper, armed with an astonishingly high confidence, crafted a classic Hollywood melodrama <i>and </i>up to the 21st century minute rock musical weaved in poignant and potent themes of fame and celebrity, alcoholism and addiction, fading male dominance and rising female empowerment, a smashing love story and damn, Cooper can sing too!!!<br /><br />On top of it all is indeed the debut acting performance of <b>Lady Gaga</b> herself, as the aspiring singer/songwriter that Cooper's veteran country rock star takes under his wing and soon becomes her lover. She is absolutely, positively sensational, unquestionably proving that she indeed has the acting chops to deliver a full, three dimensional, multi-layered performance as skilled as any veteran actress.<br /><br />What we have with "A Star Is Born," is swing for the fences filmmaking, over-flowing with bravado, style and heart as it effortlessly merges the melodrama, the magical and rock film authenticity the likes of which I have not seen since <b>"Almost Famous" (2000)</b> and even <b>"Purple Rain" (1984)--</b>and&nbsp;tremendous kudos to both Cooper and Gaga for singing LIVE during every musical sequence in the film!!<br /><br />A motion picture event of splendid reach and depth, Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" is exactly the movie <b>"Bohemian Rhapsody" </b><i>wished </i>it could have been!<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed October 2018)</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzmAGT7fd-w/XGkIFQTasGI/AAAAAAAAOn4/sgudZ0fRD0kl2x-Iwg_OpHcQ_mkoZYRDACLcBGAs/s1600/lead_720_405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzmAGT7fd-w/XGkIFQTasGI/AAAAAAAAOn4/sgudZ0fRD0kl2x-Iwg_OpHcQ_mkoZYRDACLcBGAs/s400/lead_720_405.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>4. "BLACK PANTHER"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY RYAN COOGLER</b><br />The greatest film of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe for certain. A comic book based film that fully transcended its own genre, Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" is monumental and majestic movie making. The first Marvel film that is truly <i>about </i>something other than heroes and villains, and with aims even greater and higher than the full representation of Black people within a major big budget superhero film release, Coogler lovingly imagines the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a technology advanced utopia that affords viewers the Afro-Futurism "What If?" concept of what a Black world may have been like if we had not ever been colonized, stolen, enslaved, murdered or has our bloodlines diluted through rape.<br /><br />Yes indeed, "Black Panther" is a passionately personal artistic socio-political statement in the guise of a blockbuster as the meticulous design (sets, clothing, languages, color schemes, music, dialects, tribal markings, rituals, customs, ancestry, legacies) merged with the connection <i>and </i>divide between of Black Africans and Black Americans richly fuel the narrative far above and beyond the standard heroes and villains narrative.<br /><br />As our titular hero, we have T'Challa the Black Panther (<b>Chadwick Boseman</b>), heir to the Wakandian throne after the assassination of his Father and Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (a searing <b>Michael B. Jordan</b>), the film's antagonist and representation of the painful realities of the Black experience, an African-American who has been stripped of his culture with no ability to fully access his ancestral birthright and armed with a fury that is self-righteous and rightful--therefore, making him the most complex villain in the Marvel film series to date and furthermore, making their dichotomy less Professor Xavier and Magneto and decidedly more akin to <b>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.</b><br /><b><br /></b>Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" is a film about cultures, both real and imagined, lost and found, subjugated, humiliated, eradicated and yet maintained, sustained, and poised for the fullness of ascension. It is also the story of a new King, determining precisely how he should reign, through inclusion or isolationism. And it is a superhero movie where the most powerful elements have nothing to do with superheroics whatsoever. A truly magnificent achievement.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed February 2018)</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyaIubsQcIA/XGkIuWxsraI/AAAAAAAAOoA/R_K9VSGmYQsBdCN1jpsE7nLo_e89ukciQCLcBGAs/s1600/prodmeta_focus-features_wont-you-be-my-neighbor_fred-rogers_morgan-neville_meta_5b4e2bd164c04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyaIubsQcIA/XGkIuWxsraI/AAAAAAAAOoA/R_K9VSGmYQsBdCN1jpsE7nLo_e89ukciQCLcBGAs/s400/prodmeta_focus-features_wont-you-be-my-neighbor_fred-rogers_morgan-neville_meta_5b4e2bd164c04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>3. "WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?" DIRECTED BY MORGAN NEVILLE</b><br />An astoundingly beautiful documentary that fully made me completely re-evaluate and re-engage with the iconic Public Television figure whose program existed as his life's mission, to help children, and therefore, absolutely all of us, understand our own individualistic and inherent value as human&nbsp; beings and to be acknowledged as such with ever present grace, acceptance and unconditional love.<br /><br />The story of <b>Fred Rogers</b>, the ordained minister and life long Republican who created, wrote, hosted and performed the one-of-a-kind and frankly, radical and revolutionary children's television show <b>"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"</b> was nothing less than revelatory, entrancing, sobering and undeniably moving as there was unquestionably not even one dry eye in the theater--and that included mine and repeatedly so.<br /><br />I believe that the outpouring of emotion for this film and the power it definitely harbored is precisely due to the intense and even anxiety ridden nature of our current times and social landscape which does reveal a certain spiritual decay and existential pain housed within all of us as our discourse has shattered, our tribalism has become more impenetrable and our compassion for each other and ourselves has deteriorated considerably. What Director Morgan Neville has accomplished through his briskly paced, and artfully engaging is to celebrate this gentle giant who endlessly found cause to celebrate the world in which he lived and the people who populate it, solely through the belief that everyone is deserving of love and also, that we are all capable of loving.<br /><br />An antidote to our horrific landscape and a cinematic crime that the Academy Awards neglected to nominate this wonderful film for an Oscar.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed June 2018)</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WcGyiSFmDLw/XGkI3BTFBuI/AAAAAAAAOoE/MKBbRtucU6kMt_T3ieqXXbe4D788U8jtgCLcBGAs/s1600/merlin_142049175_45ac5921-cb4b-4819-877c-e4d6d1cc05d4-articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WcGyiSFmDLw/XGkI3BTFBuI/AAAAAAAAOoE/MKBbRtucU6kMt_T3ieqXXbe4D788U8jtgCLcBGAs/s400/merlin_142049175_45ac5921-cb4b-4819-877c-e4d6d1cc05d4-articleLarge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>2. "BLACKKKLANSMAN"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY SPIKE LEE</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A filmmaker of unrelenting fearlessness, audacity, inventiveness, creativity and yes, fair mindedness, Spike Lee emerged this year with one of the finest films of his entire ouevre as "BlacKKlansman" is extraordinary, exhilarating and downright essential movie making.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Based upon the improbable, absurd yet defiantly true story of Colorado Springs Police Detective Ron Stallworth, <b>John David Washington </b>stars as Stallworth who infamously infiltrated the Colorado Springs chapter of the KKK..and yet, Stallworth is Black. To continue the investigation into the KKK, which soon leads to none other than KKK Grand Wizard David Duke himself (<b>Topher Grace</b>) and the uncovering of a domestic terrorism plot, Stallworth continues to communicate with the organization via telephone while White, Jewish Police Detective Flip Zimmerman (<b>Adam Driver</b>) portrays Stallworth in person.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Being provocative, confrontational, and controversial is indeed to be expected from an new "Joint" from Spike Lee but with "BlacKKKLansman," he has only continued to explore the turbulent landscape of race and racism in America with integrity, soulfulness, peerless skill, and a multi-layered purposefulness that this time, deftly illustrates the differences and <i>similarities</i> between the 1970's Black Power/Civil Rights movement and the White supremacy groups with images and rhetoric of racial self-love and self-preservation. Yet, Lee is rightfully wise to also showcase the subtle difference between the two, as being Pro-Black does not mean being Anti-White and White supremacy is the self-preservation of a race at the expense and eradication of all other races.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Within the characters of Stallworth and Zimmerman, we are given two individuals, through serious self-examination, who come to the realization that when it comes to upholding social justice, there is no standing upon the sidelines, and that prejudices and racist tendencies are closer than one may have ever expected to experience around and even within themselves.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Racial code switching, the pressures of being the first and only Black face in a White environment, and perceptions of race from oneself as well as those who surround you, all within a narrative and period piece purposefully designed to run concurrently with the continuously unfolding events of right here and now in the 21st century, Spike Lee's "BlacKKKlansman" is a brilliant slow burn of a film which builds into a towering, invigorating, dynamic and infuriating inferno.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>(Originally reviewed August 2018)</i></b>&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kPlbbjOw5Ws/XGkJFYjnRmI/AAAAAAAAOoM/h8YaIJVEQnoe-QZAXHnZvefEfEmw6_23gCLcBGAs/s1600/180706-stero-sorry-to-bother-tease_uyte43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1480" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kPlbbjOw5Ws/XGkJFYjnRmI/AAAAAAAAOoM/h8YaIJVEQnoe-QZAXHnZvefEfEmw6_23gCLcBGAs/s400/180706-stero-sorry-to-bother-tease_uyte43.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>1. "SORRY TO BOTHER YOU"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BOOTS RILEY</b></div>For my number one favorite film of 2018, I turn to Boots Riley's unrepentantly WTF debut feature, a film of such tremendous audacity <i>and </i>anxiety that it is also one of the very best films I have seen within this decade.<br /><br />The odyssey of Cassius Green (<b>played by Lakeith Stanfield</b>), who takes a job as a telemarketer and gains financial glories only after learning to utilize his "White voice" to attract customers, is an astoundingly singular cinematic vision that not only speaks directly to this specific time in our collective cultural history in the 21st century but also to all that has happened in the past and what will play out in the future.<br /><br />While it is a film about racial code-switching and the perceptions and prejudices about and concerning African-Americans, Riley has crafted an insidious fever dream of razor sharp agitprop that eviscerates reality television, cultural appropriation, the desperate status of current hp-hp and rap music and at its most feral, the full dehumanization of rampant capitalism and even worse, the full dehumanization of not ever taking a stand.<br /><br />Presented as a social satire yet utilizing techniques of magical realism, surreal thrills and even science-fiction horror, Boots Riley has weaved an uncomfortable, disturbing, oft-putting, often surprising nightmare of a film that supplies a major plot twist you will never see coming that flies the film completely through the looking glass and yet, superbly continues and even cements its message during which every character is complicit and is transformed by the knowledge that blindly adhering to the status quo is precisely what will cause our societal downfall.&nbsp;<br /><br />No, this film is not for everyone and nor should it be as it is film designed to provoke and turn your brain inside out with a heartfelt fury. Despite the politeness of its title, Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You" is everything but.<br /><br />This film is a cinematic Molotov cocktail.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed July 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b>There you have it. 2018's Savage Scorecard series is now complete thus making full breadth and space for the 2019 movie year!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-31346392745483641882019-02-16T05:11:00.003-08:002019-02-16T05:11:23.867-08:00SAVAGE SCORECARD 2018 PART THREE: THE BAD, THE WORSE, THE ABSOLUTELY AWFULIn all honestly, 2018 was such a strong year for the movies that I truthfully do not have many films at all to give one last swift kick towards.&nbsp; Even moreso, most of what I will present here are not even films that I would consider to being "bad." Just ones that were disappointments and ones I would&nbsp; most likely not re-visit.<br /><br />Including...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1wbn_fUrWm4/XGdYN35-qGI/AAAAAAAAOlw/UL0593xDe-Yi_4Z5mTVpGPcz1MsjgS8GQCLcBGAs/s1600/Ant-man-and-the-Wasp-Scott-Lang-and-Hope-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1197" height="203" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1wbn_fUrWm4/XGdYN35-qGI/AAAAAAAAOlw/UL0593xDe-Yi_4Z5mTVpGPcz1MsjgS8GQCLcBGAs/s400/Ant-man-and-the-Wasp-Scott-Lang-and-Hope-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"ANT-MAN AND THE WASP"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY PEYTON REED</b><br />In a year which brought us two of the best films the Marvel Studios have ever made, Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" was quite the come down. Yes, the conceit of this character and series is to be more low stakes than many of the more epic minded Marvel entries. But Reed's first go with Ant-Man was just sensational, light and frothy while being absolutely inventive with its special effects and playful visuals toying with&nbsp; our size perspectives.<br /><br />This time, the successes of the first film felt a bi told hat in a story that was so low stakes and not really much ever happened other than things growing bigger and smaller over and over again. Yes, it had it good points. <b>Paul Rudd</b> remains as engaging as ever. The new character of Ghost (<b>as played by Hannah John-Kamen</b>) made for a terrific tragic villain. The journeys into the Quantum Realm continue in their psychedelic wonder. And it's always great to see <b>Michelle Pfeiffer.&nbsp;</b>&nbsp;But that said, and except for a great post-credit sequence tying directly into "Avengers: Infinity War,"&nbsp; this film is an inconsequential place holder.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed July 2018)</i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ7fmQgKuPU/XGdg_7j9_pI/AAAAAAAAOl8/1GAunf2d3X49FNgGtz1601Qy3Sj7anJjgCLcBGAs/s1600/Incredibles25a8bb5ed2c5c5.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ7fmQgKuPU/XGdg_7j9_pI/AAAAAAAAOl8/1GAunf2d3X49FNgGtz1601Qy3Sj7anJjgCLcBGAs/s400/Incredibles25a8bb5ed2c5c5.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"INCREDIBLES 2"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BRAD BIRD</b><br />The same thoughts are voiced for this film as well, a sequel that really works overtime and yet, not very much happens. There is much to admire, from the resplendent animation to Bird's zippy plotline and adventurous style and the fact that Elastigirl (<b>voiced by Holly Hunter</b>) gets to be the star of the show this time around. And yet, I just found myself more than a little bored, making this yet another subpar Pixar sequel that pales considerably from the original, making for one I will most likely never see again--and to think, this studio was once the GOLD&nbsp; STANDARD for American animated films, the films that I would watch all over again in their entirety right this instant. "Incredibles 2" is not one of them.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed June 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a21mJmd0nBw/XGe7WGXowvI/AAAAAAAAOmI/SYCSHB98LkAIlti410I6tmxgjE5dmCo2wCLcBGAs/s1600/ready_player_one_still_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a21mJmd0nBw/XGe7WGXowvI/AAAAAAAAOmI/SYCSHB98LkAIlti410I6tmxgjE5dmCo2wCLcBGAs/s400/ready_player_one_still_19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"READY PLAYER ONE"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG</b><br />When it comes to the nature of homage, there is a very fine line between innovation and a simple exercise in nostalgia. "Ready Player One," Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the smash Ernest Cline novel is truly mixed at best, and while the source material for me was also more than middling and not much more than an excuse to have a book length pop-culture clothesline, this film failed to connect with me for different reasons.<br /><br />As with the novel, the story itself is very clever. Set in the year 2045, where the Earth has become an over-populated disaster zone, humanity has turned towards life in the virtual reality world known as the OASIS where everyone lives through their avatars and the pop culture ridden landscape of essentially anything you can think of from the 1970's-1990's with the 1980's as the touchstone. The film chronicles a race for the three virtual keys that will reward the victor with complete control of the virtual wonderland. Yes, it is <b><i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i></b> merged with <b>"Tron" (1982)</b> and <b>"The Matrix" (1999) </b>and since this is Steven Spielberg we're talking about, he has delivered a visually astounding feature.<br /><br />But aside from some sequences, including a blast of an opening and voluminous car chase starring every familiar vehicle from pop culture you can think of, to dancing in a floating disco to <b>New Order's "Blue Monday" </b>and a downright spectacular tribute to <b>Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980)</b>, and a slight commentary about our continued dehumanization in the real world compared to our synthetic lives on-line, "Ready Player One" is an otherwise empty experience drowning in purposeless CGI bombast and hollow nostalgia.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed March 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b>And now for the honestly bad ones...<br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIAYt3ooiY4/XGe-uVfSDRI/AAAAAAAAOmU/jcIq5eXPdDgJbWZBaUISzNCBrtdfDyzoQCLcBGAs/s1600/Brody-The-Commuter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="727" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIAYt3ooiY4/XGe-uVfSDRI/AAAAAAAAOmU/jcIq5eXPdDgJbWZBaUISzNCBrtdfDyzoQCLcBGAs/s400/Brody-The-Commuter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"THE COMMUTER"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY JAUME COLLET-SERRA</b><br />Before <b>Liam Neeson</b> revealed himself to being the <b>George Zimmerman</b> of yore--a violent, racist caveman ready, willing and able to murder an <i>innocent and random</i> Black man in a bizarre form of troglodyte chivalry, the <i>worst </i>thing to happen to him was this film here, one so utterly stupid that I never even bothered to waste my time reviewing it! Not much more to say than it was simply 2018's entry in the annual "Liam Neeson Gets Mad" action series, this time involving a murder conspiracy upon a commuter train, and it was the dumbest, most insufferably inexcusable piece of tripe yet. It made the hysterical <b>"Taken 3" (2014) </b>look like<b> "The Godfather" (1972).</b>&nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--34qGu7mTBo/XGfCcEIPzyI/AAAAAAAAOmg/VKuinum95p82rddVL_irbm8GgOKjBYW2QCLcBGAs/s1600/bohemian-rhapsody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="767" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--34qGu7mTBo/XGfCcEIPzyI/AAAAAAAAOmg/VKuinum95p82rddVL_irbm8GgOKjBYW2QCLcBGAs/s400/bohemian-rhapsody.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BRYAN SINGER/DEXTER FLETCHER (uncredited)</b><br />The more I think about this film, I like it less and less.<br /><br />Dear readers, I know how much so many of you loved this movie. I know that many of you are probably rooting for it to win Oscar recognition, thus capping off a very impressive awards season for itself, an accomplishment that only accents its massive box office success.&nbsp; To that, I am happy for you and I do not wish to rain on your parade.<br /><br />But for me, as a lifelong lover of the movies and the band <b>Queen</b>, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was an enormous letdown, the very type of film that could have been so much more because Queen, and the immortal <b>Freddie Mercury</b> in particular were so much more in reality. They deserved nothing less than a film for the ages and what they received (and for that matter, sanctioned as the surviving band members signed off on the film) was a bland, sanitized, watered down, by the numbers, sing-a-long crowd pleaser as tame as any forced jukebox musical.<br /><br />Yes, we can debate about what kind of a movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" could have been for I would have loved to have seen the hard R rated art film that exploded onto the screen and broke the rules of the musical biopic genre much like how Queen fully re-wrote the rules for what rock albums could be over and over and over again. That is decidedly not what Bryan Singer, and then the uncredited Dexter Fletcher who finished the film after Singer's firing, delivered. Now, this would be OK, a more wide reaching populist film, but why did it have to be so badly stagnant?<br /><br />There are good scenes here and there and it is gloriously filmed, but there was no momentum to the film, and therefore no ascension, just an empty checklist of the things we have to place into a Queen&nbsp; biopic just to say that these events were represented. And even then, the wealth of blatant historical inaccuracies was astoundingly oft-putting to the point where they completely took me out of the film!<br /><br />No, you do not even have to be a Queen scholar to know when certain SMASH HIT songs were released but here they are in the film being depicted as being written in the wrong years, band members performing when they did not and worst of all, life altering events completely re-arranged to manufacture prefabricated drama in a life story that already possessed more than its share of inherent drama. The greatest offense for me was having Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis become the catalyst for the band's iconic Live Aid performance in 1985, when in reality, Mercury's diagnosis arrived two years AFTER Live Aid! Inexcusable!<br /><br />No, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is not a documentary. I realize that. But the re-structuring and watered down nature made the experience more than a little banal as well as fully inauthentic. As for<b> Rami Malek's </b>celebrated work in the impossible role of Freddie Mercury? Well, he works like the devil and he is probably the greatest Freddie Mercury impersonator you will see but I do not think it is really a great <i>performance</i>.<br /><br />All in all, "Bohemian Rhapsody," a film designed to celebrate the life and legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, ended up being a film that was ultimately a disservice to them.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed November 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>THE WORST FILM OF 2018</u></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KI-pE6TCIZs/XGfI-VbJGNI/AAAAAAAAOms/5RWasjJYR9U61-Thl63oZg3VaRSC2tpggCLcBGAs/s1600/jurassic-world-fallen-kingdom-trailer-teaser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1200" height="226" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KI-pE6TCIZs/XGfI-VbJGNI/AAAAAAAAOms/5RWasjJYR9U61-Thl63oZg3VaRSC2tpggCLcBGAs/s400/jurassic-world-fallen-kingdom-trailer-teaser.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY J.A. BAYONA</b><br />One of my favorite lines of dialogue from <b>John Landis' </b>eternal <b>"National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978)</b> arrives late in the film when the several members of the beleaguered, cheerfully dilapidated, outrageously drunken, unrepentantly filthy fraternity Delta House find themselves within the office clutches of the insidious Dean Vernon Wormer (<b>the late&nbsp;John Vernon</b>). As he regards each member of the fraternity with disgusted contempt yet relishing in at the prospect of expelling them all from Faber University due to their relentless debauchery and poor grades, he turns to college Freshman Flounder (<b>the late Stephen Furst</b>) after delivering his sad midterm grades and proclaims, plainly, <b>"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."</b><br /><br />Something very similar could be said for the "Jurassic Park" film series.<br /><br />Now, we reach my least favorite, otherwise known as the worst film of the year, with "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" the fifth film in this miraculously continuing series which has not grown even one brain cell smarter in the interim between each installment. With the still spectacular special effects and seamless action set pieces and grandstanding dinosaurs as the stars, the series has remained on track. Unfortunately, where it has also remained on track and has refused to evolve is through the storytelling and complete lack of <i>even one intelligent human being </i>that could even begin to make a film like this interesting, as well as exciting, awe inspiring, frightening and even entertaining. Honestly, it is UNFATHOMABLE to me as to why the filmmakers have just refused to have the human characters be smart just even one time instead of being yet another lumbering, bludgeoning episode of "Whack-A-Mole" where stupid people do stupid things solely to get eaten.<br /><br />And it is not even that these characters, once again led by <b>Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard</b>, are just not smart. They all seem to have fallen under a sort of collective amnesia, like the participants on a long running reality game show who are actually shocked, <i>shocked</i> I tell you from the goings on the viewers at home all expect and are commonplace. These characters behave as if they have no knowledge of the previous "Jurassic Park" installment, and even their actions within the previous installment.<br /><br />So, how else can anyone explain to me why Howard's character has become a <i>dinosaur right's activist</i>?! And for the love of Pete, why do these idiots keep going back to the island anyway, even one that is about to consume itself due to an erupting volcano? If not then we can't have those nifty special effects then can we? Characters are continuously duped by those bad corporate interests who <i>still</i> think these genetically created dinosaurs can be tamed and used for their own greedy financial ends, all of which could easily force even a child viewer of these movies to ask "Didn't any of you learn the lessons from say...the <i>first</i> film?"<br /><br />I could go on and on but why bother? A loud, bombastic, belligerent bore fully devoid of anything resembling terror or adventure or intelligence, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"&nbsp;is so terrible, so stupid, so mind-numbingly bone headed, that I am now going to root for the dinosaurs to emerge victorious just so human beings cannot make another one of these awful movies.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed October 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><b>STAY TUNED: MY TOP TEN FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018!!!!</b>Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-38427310003508737852019-02-14T18:42:00.004-08:002019-02-14T18:50:26.433-08:00SAVAGE SCORECARD 2018 PART TWO: NUMBER 11Part Two of my four part series is now here for you and this time, I will commemorate the films that were <i>just this close</i> to finding a spot in the Top Ten, therefore the name "Number 11." As always, if you wish to locate the full review, I have listed precisely where you can find them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KetAYFJnIe0/XGOOC5k4QWI/AAAAAAAAOkw/jrDVw2QWpLUhyphevbTiyMUtwdLneUTWwCLcBGAs/s1600/Avengers-Infinity-War-Tony-Stark-Survivors-Guilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KetAYFJnIe0/XGOOC5k4QWI/AAAAAAAAOkw/jrDVw2QWpLUhyphevbTiyMUtwdLneUTWwCLcBGAs/s400/Avengers-Infinity-War-Tony-Stark-Survivors-Guilt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY ANTHONY &amp; JOE RUSSO</b><br />It was "the snap" heard 'round the world and it left us all in ashes.<br /><br />Anthony &amp; Joe Russo's "Avengers: Infinity War," the 19th film in the on-going <b>Marvel Comics</b> saga was the game changer to upend everything we have seen over the past 10 years and this feat was superbly achieved with a storytelling heft, zest, verve. flair, imagination and most importantly, a fearless level of creative risk that left viewers in stoned silence by the film's conclusion...and undeniably salivating for the next installment which will arrive in April 2019.<br /><br />And in fact, it should not have even have worked at all. To build an epic film with every Marvel character we have seen over 10 years into one narrative could have been a disaster. Yet, with clean clear storytelling and a fierce commitment to these characters (and the source material from which they sprang), "Avengers: Infinity War," while easily being the darkest and most doom laden entry yet, is a veritable triumph, making it the second best Marvel Studios release so far as well as being the very type of superhero film that propelled me back in time to the days when I read these books religiously.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed April 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrULU8dINlk/XGOON8BAY8I/AAAAAAAAOk0/WDIWojqBmmMJ46NaBV6nBCRmmvcJ-127gCLcBGAs/s1600/firstreformed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrULU8dINlk/XGOON8BAY8I/AAAAAAAAOk0/WDIWojqBmmMJ46NaBV6nBCRmmvcJ-127gCLcBGAs/s400/firstreformed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"FIRST REFORMED"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY PAUL SCHRADER</b><br /><b>Ethan Hawke</b> was robbed!!!! Yup, I said it. Ethan Hawke was robbed as he was not nominated in the Best Actor category for this year's Academy wards. So shameful as what he delivered in Paul Schrader's mesmerizing, quietly wrenching drama was the best performance of his entire career.<br /><br />Hawke stars as Reverend Ernst Toller, a a pastor at a tiny, upstate New York parish and is undergoing a severe spiritual crisis. A solitary figure, mourning the failure of his marriage, the death of his son as a soldier in Iraq, the struggles of maintaining his church in the looming shadow of the nearby mega-church, he has now fallen deeper into alcoholism and has taken to chronicling his thoughts, and fears into a journal for the time span of one year. and soon, from his dwindling congregation, he meets the pregnant Mary (<b>Amanda Seyfried</b>) and her husband Michael (<b>Philip Ettinger</b>), a radical environmentalist.<br /><br />What ensues is a subdued, somber, meditative, decidedly adult sermon of a film in which the philosophical, religious allegory, and even the surreal all congeal into a disturbing experience designed to inspire debate, to get angry with and to even be confused by.&nbsp; "First Reformed" is a film that imperatively speaks to the turbulent pulse of modern society.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed June 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kQQ3IRahAU/XGOOe2vxAQI/AAAAAAAAOlA/4qw8V2OmbrgmsSPVTGm3vtDHvX0zK1PowCLcBGAs/s1600/yndrkeo6t2unwslxwjtj.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="800" height="231" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kQQ3IRahAU/XGOOe2vxAQI/AAAAAAAAOlA/4qw8V2OmbrgmsSPVTGm3vtDHvX0zK1PowCLcBGAs/s400/yndrkeo6t2unwslxwjtj.webp" width="400" /></a></div><b>"GREEN BOOK"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY PETER FARRELLY</b><br />The more I think about this film, the more impressed I am with it.<br /><br />Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" stars <b>Viggo Mortensen</b> as Tony "Tony Lip" Vallelonga, a New York City Italian-American nightclub bouncer who becomes the driver for the affluent, eccentric and highly educated concert pianist Dr. Don Shirley (<b>an excellent Mahershala Ali</b>) on a concert tour through the deep South utilizing <i>The Negro Motorist's Green Book</i>, a guidebook for Black motorists displaying the motels and restaurants that will provide services.<br /><br />What could have been a horrific version of <b>"Driving Miss Daisy"</b> in reverse merged with <b>"The Help," </b>Farrelly refreshingly made a wise, nuanced exploration of race relations within the entertaining constructs of a crowd pleasing road movie. I appreciated how Farrelly was not afraid of h is subject matter, showcasing the sting of racism while also providing the heartfelt message of how much we could gain, and even advance as a society, if we only spent some time in a car listening to and learning about each other, instead of building walls keeping us apart.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed February 2019)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf4Ba4kP5AQ/XGOOphTa5sI/AAAAAAAAOlE/yyd5XD4Rw-A5ko14f_NX2ds63LA8upKRgCLcBGAs/s1600/image6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf4Ba4kP5AQ/XGOOphTa5sI/AAAAAAAAOlE/yyd5XD4Rw-A5ko14f_NX2ds63LA8upKRgCLcBGAs/s400/image6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"HEARTS BEAT LOUD"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY BRETT HALEY</b><br />It really hurt to leave this one off of the Top Ten list as this criminally ignored film was an absolute jewel.<br /><br /><b>Nick Offerman </b>stars as Frank Fisher, the proprietor of a record store for 17 years yet due to dwindling sales, he has decided to close its doors for good. Additionally, he is barely preparing for the departure of his daughter Sam (<b>Kiersey Clemons</b>) for college where she plans to begin her studies to become a doctor, her life's passion. One evening Frank persuades Sam to partake in one of their legendary "jam sessions," where the two will play their respective instruments, compose and record a song together, which Frank soon (and unbeknownst to Sam) uploads to Spotify and eventually becomes a hit internet single.<br /><br />In addition to caring for his mentally ill Mother (<b>Blythe Danner</b>) and for Sam facing a farewell with her girlfriend, "Hearts Beat Loud" is a richly aching Father/daughter story about the two participants struggling with growing up without causing the other any additional hurt. It is rightfully autumnal , melancholic and speaks directly to the time of life when forced changes reveal a world of emotions, including feelings of regret for lost chances, past failures, possibilities not taken and a fear of the unknown future.<br /><br />Again, a so-called "small" film with an enormous reach and a heart as wide as the skies, "Hearts Beat Loud" is a film of rare tenderness and palpable bittersweetness yet fiercely honest and carries not one prefabricated moment.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed July 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-egwCorDJWyU/XGOO5pEDJ2I/AAAAAAAAOlQ/JTUmYGek2KIZB7hqnh-Xs_uve4h60KPGACLcBGAs/s1600/mission-impossible-fallout-promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-egwCorDJWyU/XGOO5pEDJ2I/AAAAAAAAOlQ/JTUmYGek2KIZB7hqnh-Xs_uve4h60KPGACLcBGAs/s400/mission-impossible-fallout-promo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-FALLOUT"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE</b><br />The year's best action film by a mile and once again, it has achieved the..<i>ahem</i>...impossible as this series, now in its sixth installment, only keeps getting better, making this episode the finest to date.<br /><br />Ferociously paced and filled end to end with all manner of jaw dropping set pieces yet completely anchored by strong storytelling, characters and performances from the entire cast, "Mission: Impossible-Fallout," while certainly being a product of 21st century cinema, feels more like a throwback to the films we all lined up for during the 1980's. Event films that more than went out of their way to provide you with a sense of wonder, shock, awe and <i>"How did they do that???"</i> moments that are blisteringly real and not reliant upon CGI bombast.<br /><br />So much credit goes to McQuarrie and the tireless, relentless <b>Tom Cruise </b>for giving 1000% in creating a series that has long eclipsed <b>James Bond</b> and <b>Jason Bourne</b> and for my tastes, has now reached the upper echelon of films like <b>Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" (2008).</b><br /><br />Yes indeed, this is superlative entertainment executed spectacularly well. It truly makes you believe the unbelievable even when it is happening right in front of your eyes.&nbsp; <br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed July 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q2FBIn8HIw/XGOPicGEPfI/AAAAAAAAOlc/6E7IpXxPFO0Nr-FBvDm6K-KKBKfAG6_0wCLcBGAs/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1280" height="203" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q2FBIn8HIw/XGOPicGEPfI/AAAAAAAAOlc/6E7IpXxPFO0Nr-FBvDm6K-KKBKfAG6_0wCLcBGAs/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"SEARCHING"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY ANEESH CHAGANTY</b><br />The year's best thriller by a mile and one made the more horrific due to the plot and subject matter being planted so firmly in our current 21st century landscape and relationships with technology and social media. It takes the mundane and turns it all into a harrowing societal warning.<br /><br /><b>John Cho </b>stars as David Kim who frantically searches for his daughter Margot (<b>Michelle La</b>) after she does not return home from a study group session at a friend's house. "Searching" is an insidious film that employs the brilliant technique of having every image appear solely through the lens of social media, text messages, laptop and surveillance cameras, television broadcasts and the like, meaning that not one image whatsoever appears in the real world, so to speak. This quality enhances the story while again taking what is now so commonplace and making it terrifying to the point where logging on afterwards may feel utterly different and even creepier.<br /><br />While there is no graphic violence on display, the tone of the film is more realistic than escapist and once it was all said and done, the overall effect rattled me down to my bones.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed December 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPhUqhs_dho/XGOPsdDyeNI/AAAAAAAAOlg/eQWGSuA-GrALhXKVFJaEB9VpjO-Q-H85QCLcBGAs/s1600/636586073792933650-XXX-CP-Solo--A-Star-Wars-Story-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPhUqhs_dho/XGOPsdDyeNI/AAAAAAAAOlg/eQWGSuA-GrALhXKVFJaEB9VpjO-Q-H85QCLcBGAs/s400/636586073792933650-XXX-CP-Solo--A-Star-Wars-Story-05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD</b><br />There was a great disturbance in The Force regarding this film.<br /><br />For me, an O.G. "Star Wars" fan from DAY ONE baby, this was the "Star Wars" stand-alone film of which I was most skeptical and in fact, I was least anxious to see as I&nbsp; feared it only existed to continuously mine the original trilogy for lucrative measures. Then, there was the firing of the film's original directors--never a good sign. But then, like a Jedi Master, Ron Howard appeared and directed the film to absolute glory.<br /><br />With a white lightning pace and clean, clear, direct storytelling, "Solo,"&nbsp; is the origin story of Han Solo (now <b>played by Alden Ehrenreich</b> with rock star swagger), and how he ended up in the criminal underworld of the galaxy far, far away a long time ago. In doing so, Ron Howard has given us a "Star Wars" film that works as a heist movie/gangster saga as well as one that has nothing to do with Jedi Knights, lightsabers, the mysticism of The Force or the over-arching Skywalker family drama at all, making it a lighter, even faster affair with all manner of beautifully executed set pieces and cliffhangers for Han and his compatriots (including a priceless <b>Donald Glover</b> absolutely perfect as the younger Lando Calrissian) to get in and out of.<br /><br />Shockingly with a nearly $400 million worldwide box office take, "Solo" was considered to be a box office failure, certainly ruining any chances for further prequel installments. Such a shame, as Ron Howard more than delivered the goods and made a spectacular new addition into our on-going science fiction/fantasy universe that <b>George Lucas</b> built.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed May 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><b>STAY TUNED FOR PART THREE: THE BAD, THE WORSE, THE ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!</b>Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-16043068037440442192019-02-12T19:00:00.004-08:002019-02-12T19:01:01.878-08:00SAVAGE SCORECARD 2018 PART ONE: THE HONOR ROLL It is time for the lists, dear readers! It is time for my annual Savage Scorecard series, where I compile my favorite and least favorite films of the year. For me, the cinematic year of 2018 was an exceptional one, where filmmakers both veteran and not really pushed themselves to realize films that often stood very tall creatively and artistically.<br /><br />For this first set, I will begin with "The Honor Roll," films that did not make the Top Ten or even what I like to refer to as "Number 11," but were indeed strong, notable releases well worth viewing. As always,&nbsp; I will direct you to where you can read the entire, full reviews of each film should you wish to see them.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>SAVAGE SCORECARD 2018: THE HONOR ROLL</b></u></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LHqnzyRsB18/XF_bnDueO9I/AAAAAAAAOjk/0Ej82s5sn_cg5y-zZARVjP8gAlfrhHMIQCLcBGAs/s1600/A-Quiet-Place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LHqnzyRsB18/XF_bnDueO9I/AAAAAAAAOjk/0Ej82s5sn_cg5y-zZARVjP8gAlfrhHMIQCLcBGAs/s400/A-Quiet-Place.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"A QUIET PLACE"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY JOHN KRASINSKI</b><br />-The post-apocalyptic tale of a family struggling to survive and escape from a collective of monsters who ravenously arrive by being attracted by the slightest sound, made for a horror thriller so ingenious that I was surprised that I had not seen something like it before.<br /><br />Essentially a silent movie, I thoroughly enjoyed how Krasinski established the rules for his cinematic universe by showing us how sound can and cannot be utilized, how it travels, how day-to-day existence works without sounds and on a more existential level, how the sounds of nature have returned to the forefront of the world again. All of these tactics, and eschewing with horror film tropes like excessive gore, ensure that "A Quiet Place" remains a taut, gripping, stylish and effective pulse-pounder filled with strong performances and anchored by a genuinely moving Father/daughter story between Krasinski's character and his teenage daughter Regan (<b>played by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds</b>).<br /><i><b>(Originally reviewed July 2018)</b></i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yFy2mHJwM-E/XGD1ymVdPfI/AAAAAAAAOjw/D5aKmPlMuYsQR1ag703paVyNcvydaKk7wCLcBGAs/s1600/image_178e05cd.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="630" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yFy2mHJwM-E/XGD1ymVdPfI/AAAAAAAAOjw/D5aKmPlMuYsQR1ag703paVyNcvydaKk7wCLcBGAs/s400/image_178e05cd.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"A WRINKLE IN TIME" DIRECTED BY AVA DuVERNAY</b><br />While there were some qualities housed inside of children's films that do not sit terribly well with me, (an insistently bustling wall-to-wall film score, platitudes repeated ad nauseum, aspects of some of the younger actors' performances) Ava DuVernay's otherwise dazzling, emotionally satisfying adaptation of the <b>Madeleine L'Engle</b> classic novel is indeed filled to the brim and beyond with effective child-like wonder.<br /><br />The story of 13-year old Meg (<b>played by Storm Reid</b>) on her tireless search, with the aid of three astral travelers (<b>Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey</b>) to save her long disappeared Astrophysicist Father (<b>played by Chris Pine</b>) as well as the universe in the process, is ultimately the type of children's film that is indeed in short supply: one that is child friendly while also being artful, sophisticated, empathetic, psychedelic and also one that refuses to exist as an empty piece of mercenary product as it carries the message that love itself will save existence.<br /><br />And furthermore, representation is everything for when was the last time you saw a film in which the heroine (!) was a teenaged, bespectacled African American girl who is a Scientist and Mathematician who is given the opportunity to change the universe through the brilliance of her intelligence, the belief in herself and abilities, the strength of her convictions and the purity of her compassion. What DuVernay has delivered is a young woman's inner journey from self-doubt to empowerment while also displaying a joyous ode to Afro-futurism and Black excellence.&nbsp; <br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed March 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XJrJzMyipKk/XGD5mzm4mCI/AAAAAAAAOj8/VFHbj04XEoobcsF-XPj7QEVyp49NVT6zwCLcBGAs/s1600/annihilation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XJrJzMyipKk/XGD5mzm4mCI/AAAAAAAAOj8/VFHbj04XEoobcsF-XPj7QEVyp49NVT6zwCLcBGAs/s400/annihilation.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>"ANNIHILATION"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY ALEX GARLAND</b><br />Alex Garland's lavish and challenging dark dream of a film is that rare science fiction film that is greatly more concerned with ideas rather than pyrotechnics and the result is a disturbing, deliberately paced experience that is simultaneously somnambulistic and sinister.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Natalie Portman</b> stars as a Professor of cellular biology who joins a team of military scientists (<b>Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny</b>) into a mysterous quarantined zone known as "The Shimmer," a landscape of constant mutation, time manipulation and from which all previous scientific exploratory teams have never returned.<br /><br />Garland has created a film where the aesthetics and atmosphere contributes to the overall effectiveness of the film as much as the plot and characters and in ding so, he has weaved an experience that feels as haunting as a bad dream without falling completely into terror. For what I think Garland achieved greatly is to present the concept of what is evolution and the idea that as something begins to assert itself into existence, then something invariably must begin to disintegrate.<br /><br />This is a film that will indeed, and insidiously, burrow under your skin.&nbsp; <br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed March 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gn_ug9oQhx0/XGD6kp-zRRI/AAAAAAAAOkE/8tjab4sRpTQq6mLsBUCLNJ3QR9UqShpVQCLcBGAs/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gn_ug9oQhx0/XGD6kp-zRRI/AAAAAAAAOkE/8tjab4sRpTQq6mLsBUCLNJ3QR9UqShpVQCLcBGAs/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"CREED II"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY STEVEN CAPLE JR.</b><br />While not quite as powerful as <b>Ryan Coogler's</b> primal <b>"Creed" (2015),</b> Steven Caple Jr.'s sequel advances the story of Adonis Creed (<b>the titanic Michael B. Jordan</b>) and Rocky Balboa (<b>Sylvester Stallone</b>, again eliciting a warmly effortless and deeply effective performance) as the film brings the events of <b>"Rocky IV" (1985)</b> full circle as Adonis battles Viktor Drago (<b>Florian Munteanu</b>), the son of Ivan Drago (<b>Dolph Lundgren</b>), the man who murdered his Father, Apollo Creed in the boxing ring 30 years prior.<br /><br />Caple Jr. not only elevates the cartoonish qualities of "Rocky IV"&nbsp; to an emotionally riveting degree by applying a greater sense of humanity and gravitas, "Creed II" is a stirring and soulful examination of Fathers, sons, the legacies left behind and the legacies attempting to being built. How all of those concepts clash and conflict entirely rests within the characters of old warriors still wrestling with and being haunted by the consequences of their choices and how the young lions try to leap out from those immersive shadows while also honoring them. Additionally, I loved how Caple Jr. also delivered a richly moving story set within the 21st century Black experience via the love story and growing family of Adonis and the hearing impaired rising singer-songwriter Bianca Taylor (<b>Tessa Thompson</b>).<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed December 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kG3iYCNs0SI/XGD7-hIL8-I/AAAAAAAAOkQ/RASS3EJMBEsKuv2bsO71BndRM3PzXirIwCLcBGAs/s1600/MV5BMTg5NjEzODk4NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODM4NTE4NTM%2540._V1_SX1500_CR0%252C0%252C1500%252C999_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kG3iYCNs0SI/XGD7-hIL8-I/AAAAAAAAOkQ/RASS3EJMBEsKuv2bsO71BndRM3PzXirIwCLcBGAs/s400/MV5BMTg5NjEzODk4NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODM4NTE4NTM%2540._V1_SX1500_CR0%252C0%252C1500%252C999_AL_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"JULIET, NAKED"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY JESSE PERETZ</b><br />Director Jesse Peretz's pitch perfect adaptation of the excellent Nick Hornby novel certainly does suggest a certain followup to the sublime <i>High Fidelity, </i>as we are again presented with the melancholic obsessions of a music fan and the turbulence that ensued with his romantic partner. But, for "Juliet, Naked," we probe even further as the film is a deeply perceptive story of middle aged malaise, arrested developments and the ruts we find ourselves stuck inside of and all contained within an aching love triangle.<br /><br /><b>Rose Byrne </b>absolutely sparkles as Annie, the film's main protagonist, the long suffering girlfriend of Duncan, the aforementioned musically obsessed Duncan (an excellent <b>Chris O'Dowd</b>). And <b>Ethan Hawke</b> is sublime as the reclusive rock star Tucker Crowe, the object of Duncan's adoration yet who miraculously formulates a connection with Annie. For Annie, the wonder of this film is that we are not given an experience that simply boils down to which man she will choose. What we are given is the story of a woman trying to attain happiness through self discovery and serious attention towards herself.<br /><br />Jesse Peretz's "Juliet, Naked" is a "small" film with an enormous reach.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed&nbsp;September 2018)</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3oDCGUygDw/XGK05Bs1h0I/AAAAAAAAOkc/j9Mo_gwG7bQ61zrJBHTFCb62F0ZsRpvhgCLcBGAs/s1600/2fbc82e0-4d77-4c2d-81c6-0612b192b322-2493_D016_00120R_GRD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3oDCGUygDw/XGK05Bs1h0I/AAAAAAAAOkc/j9Mo_gwG7bQ61zrJBHTFCb62F0ZsRpvhgCLcBGAs/s400/2fbc82e0-4d77-4c2d-81c6-0612b192b322-2493_D016_00120R_GRD.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"FIRST MAN"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY DAMIEN CHAZELLE</b><br />After blowing me completely away with his blistering, brutal <b>"Whiplash" (2014)</b> and kind of lulling me with his over-rated <b>"La La Land" (2016), </b>Writer/Director Damien Chazelle returned to form (for me) with his episodic docudrama/interior exploration of Neil Armstrong (<b>played by Ryan Gosling&nbsp;</b>in a performance that is accomplished, difficult, mature and quietly intense), which is by turns visceral and demonstrably muted, a distinct set of juxtapositions that worked fluidly in this remarkably poignant film.<br /><br />From visually striking and harrowing first person only viewpoints from the cockpit of one rocketship journey after another during America's attempts to reach the moon, Chazelle essentially dives into Armstrong's psyche as well, while creating a poetic psychological drama of grief and mourning over the death of his daughter, making the full experience of "First Man" artfully solitary and elegantly claustrophobic.<br /><b><i>(Originally reviewed October 2018)</i></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7kasXbvJG5A/XGK1MEP4PAI/AAAAAAAAOkk/TnNuIFyg53cFahtAqS1jvcUNLv9rOzlvwCLcBGAs/s1600/636607862059187776-TULLY-02186-R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7kasXbvJG5A/XGK1MEP4PAI/AAAAAAAAOkk/TnNuIFyg53cFahtAqS1jvcUNLv9rOzlvwCLcBGAs/s400/636607862059187776-TULLY-02186-R.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"TULLY"&nbsp; DIRECTED BY JASON REITMAN</b><br />Admittedly, this film contains a wild plot twist that still feels to be unnecessary and its ending does wrap things up in too tidy of a bow, but despite those misgivings, "Tully," the third collaboration between Director Jason Reitman and <b>Writer Diablo Cody,</b> is a whip-smart, deeply empathetic, rightfully unglamorous look at 21st century Motherhood.<br /><br /><b>Charlize Theron</b>, in a searing performance, stars as Marlo, a not-so-young Mother, with a loving but detached husband, and now three children, and is barely able to hold herself together as she is severely overwhelmed and suffering from nearly debilitating exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Enter 26-year-old Tully (<b>MacKenzie Davis</b>),a "night nurse," who is assigned to the home to assist with the children and house cleaning while Marlo can finally sleep. Marlo and Tully soon formulate a close friendship, which forces Marlo to confront the person she was when she was younger and the dreams she had for herself at that age compared and contrasted with who she is right now.<br /><br />Where this film succeeds richly is how unsentimental, and therefore, how realistic a portrayal of Motherhood is presented throughout. The sense of draining normalcy of feeding, breast pumping, changing diapers and repeat and repeat <i>ad nauseum</i> showcases how Marlo finds her own body becoming less human and more machine like, her visage descending into catatonia and all delivered without any sense of prefabricated melodrama. In fact, and at its finest, "Tully" is a film that passionately illustrates that being someone's Mother, and surviving to tell the tale, may be the most heroic act one can do.<br /><i><b>(Originally reviewed May 2018)</b></i><br /><i><b><br /></b></i><b>STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO: "NUMBER 11"</b>Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-15268600319271326412019-02-07T19:54:00.002-08:002019-02-07T19:54:22.921-08:00THE ROAD BETWEEN US: a review of "Green Book"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBlOtcHBiLg/XFd3tKzRlPI/AAAAAAAAOjA/NxBXUGQDSLwCJC4wVWK0wofLNrolRSGQACLcBGAs/s1600/la-1541456063-dmocce9idj-snap-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBlOtcHBiLg/XFd3tKzRlPI/AAAAAAAAOjA/NxBXUGQDSLwCJC4wVWK0wofLNrolRSGQACLcBGAs/s400/la-1541456063-dmocce9idj-snap-image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"GREEN BOOK"</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by Nick Vallelonga &amp; Brian Hayes Currie &amp; Peter Farrelly</b><br /><b>Directed by Peter Farrelly</b><br /><b>***1/2 (three and a half stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b>I have to admit to you that I was apprehensive about seeing this one.<br /><br />In 2018, an exceptional year that showcased differing styles and genres of Black filmmaking excellence, from titles as varied as <b>Spike Lee's "BlacKKKlansman," Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You," Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther," Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk"</b> among others, I just was not certain if I really had it in me to see what was kinda, sorta looking like yet another race themed drama with a White protagonist in the leading role serving as some sort of savior figure to the noble yet perpetually helpless Black person...i.e. akin to what we have already seen in purportedly well meaning films like <b>Tate Taylor's "The Help" (2011) </b>and definitely, <b>John Lee Hancock's </b>"Me And My Pet Negro"...oops, I mean, <b>"The Blind Side" (2009).&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>And yet, I did indeed venture to my theater to finally regard Peter Farrelly's critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated "Green Book," a film whose trailer certainly did seem to possibly evoke the very kind of film that I had been fearing to see. While the end result is indeed one designed to attain more of a commercial, mass appeal film-going experience, I was indeed extremely surprised and&nbsp; undeniably moved by what Farrelly achieved...especially as I never thought that one half of the Writing /Directing team of the likes of <b>"Dumb And&nbsp; Dumber" (1994), "Kingpin" (1996),</b> and <b>"There's Something About Mary" (1998) </b>even remotely had something this nuanced, thoughtful and hopeful in him.<br /><br />Set in 1962, "Green Book" stars an excellent <b>Viggo Mortensen</b> as Tony "Tony Lip" Vallelonga, an Italian-American New York City nightclub bouncer searching for new job opportunities after the establishment at which he is employed is closed down for renovations.<br /><br />Tony is soon invited to meet Dr. Don Shirley (a wondrous <b>Mahershala Ali</b>), an African-American classical pianist, housed in a lavish abode directly above Carnegie Hall, who offers Tony employment as&nbsp; his personal driver through the Midwest and deep South for an eight week concert tour, with plans to return to New York City by Christmas Eve. After some hesitation, due to his own racist prejudices, Tony accepts the job and is given a copy of <b>author Victor Hugo Green's </b><i><b>The Negro Motorist Green Book</b>, </i>a guidebook for Black motorists displaying the locations of motels and restaurants that will provide service.<br /><br />On their shared journey, Tony and Dr. Shirley clash with each other as Tony is intimidated and irritated by Dr. Shirley's affluence and refinement and in turn, Dr. Shirley is disturbed by Tony's coarseness, crass manners, and propensity for violence. And unquestionably for both men, racial stereotypes, prejudices and self-perceptions prove to be the most difficult road map to navigate as their experiences tentatively, gradually, hopefully deliver a greater understanding and respect of each other as well as themselves.<br /><br />On the surface, Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" may indeed exist as precisely the kind of racial harmony crowd pleaser that I loathe. The kind of disingenuous race relations movie that only exists to make White liberals feel great about themselves for proclaiming themselves to being liberal. At its worst, the film could have been nothing more than <b>Bruce Beresford's</b> <i>Best Picture</i> Oscar winner <b>"Driving Miss Daisy" (1989) </b>in reverse...and in the year of both "Black Panther" and undeniably, "BlacKKKlansman," a film like that would be inexcusable!<br /><br />Thankfully, not only did Peter Farrelly seem to understand the potential obstacles for a film such as this one, I think he even cleverly played into and then upended the "Driving Miss Daily" comparisons and conceits by ensuring the truth of the characters' humanity remained at the forefront, regardless of the film's lighter tonality. In essence, I think that Farrelly knows his strengths and understands that he <i>is not </i>the Spike Lee kind of filmmaker and storyteller, so to speak. Yet that being said, I do believe that he played directly <i>towards</i> his own considerable filmmaking and storytelling strengths, and in the process, revealed a greater nuance and depth that I, and I would assume you as well, never knew that he possessed.<br /><br />As you look back at the filmography of Peter Farrelly and his brother <b>Bobby Farrelly</b>, in addition to creating over the top, audaciously vulgar hard R rated comedies, each of their films did indeed feel to champion some sort of outsider figure be it a sad sack one-handed bowler and an ingenue Amish man in the aforementioned "Kingpin," a state trooper afflicted with personality disorder in <b>"Me, Myself &amp; Irene" (2000),</b> and even conjoined twins in <b>"Stuck On You" (2003)</b>, for instance.<br /><br />For "Green Book," Peter Farrelly has turned towards that similar attention towards those subjected to the societal sidelines in an obviously more dramatic, and therefore, socio-political fashion as the issues of race, racism, identity politics and the prejudices we hold are indeed the engine driving this film as our two main protagonists drive throughout the deep South.<br /><br />Essentially, Farrelly has fashioned a film that could work as a companion traveling piece to both <b>John Hughes' "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987)</b> and <b>Alexander Payne's "Sideways" (2004)</b>, two superior road movies that served a comedy of manners surrounded by darker themed character studies of men all reaching personal crossroads. For "Green Book," his attention to story, character, and period detail are all entirely on point but where the film finds its power is through Farrelly's exceedingly difficult navigation of, again, the proper <i>tone</i> where comedic elements do not diffuse the inherent drama and overall honesty of the piece or that the drama does not grow to be too heavy for the comedy to be unsustainable.<br /><br />And yet, there is the very rightful questioning and even criticism towards the film that the lightness of its tone trivializes the subject matter and the real people and situations upon which this film has been based and inspired by. A healthy debate about this very issue is necessary without question and it was, in part, the cause of my trepidation for even seeing the movie in the first place. On the other hand, not every film can be "BlacKKKlansman," and not very film needs to be or even <i>should </i>be, for there are many roads up the same mountain and different people can be reached with the same message presented in different ways. To that end, there is a delicate balance at work to remain honest to the characters, their emotions and the environment and time period in which they all exist when creating a film experience designed for mass audiences. Now that I have seen the film, I can say for my sense and sensibilities, Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" accomplished its goals handsomely because, regardless of the tone, the film felt true.<br /><br />Yes, "Green Book" contains more than its share of character driven humor in the vein of <b>Neil Simon's <i>The Odd Couple</i> (1965)</b>, two mismatched individuals thrown together irritating each other tremendously yet tentatively learning from and about each other, eventually building towards a greater understanding. Farrelly has great fun playing Dr. Shirley's highly educated polish off of Tony's working class roughness. But all the while, he never loses sight of that racial component that fuels precisely who and <i>why </i>they are who they are. Unlike a film like "The Help," I deeply appreciated how Peter Farrelly did not feel afraid of his subject matter as he remained resolute with presenting a film that is about racism, therefore not shying away from the ugliness, the very images and feelings that should make us all feel dangerously uncomfortable.<br /><br />I think of an early scene in the film when Tony's wife Dolores (a warm <b>Linda Cardellini</b>) is present when two Black repairmen are working in their home. Not only are several of Tony and Dolores' extended family members also on-site, presumably to deter those sexually voracious Black men from potentially raping Dolores, Farrelly even further has Tony take the two glasses that both Black men have used to drink the water that Dolores has graciously given, and tossed them into the kitchen garbage can--for why would, and how could his pure White lips touch the same glasses that have been "contaminated" by the lips of Black people.<br /><br />In this brief scene, Farrelly demonstrated to me that he was ready and willing to deliver racism's painful sting, while also delivering the absurdity and possibly, the shame one may be able to feel once they see racism for its unrepentant cruelty, especially if it is how they themselves once housed the same values...like Tony.<br /><br />Of course, this brings us to what could be another debatable criticism concerning "Green Book," and that is of the White Savior/Magic Negro conceit, where the White character exists to save the helpless Black protagonist and conversely, the Black character is solely served as a plot device to aid the White protagonist, never existing as a three dimensional character at all. With t his film, a debate of this sort is necessary but again, I felt that Farrelly smartly overstepped those conceptual pitfalls, by ensuring both men were presented as realistic human beings.<br /><br />For Tony, I felt that we were subjected to an exploration of a man's awakening, to his own racial prejudices, to the insidious nature of racism itself and his own sense of White privilege, as well as newfound understandings of loyalty, friendship, family, romance and communication. With regards to his attitudes towards race, Tony has spent his entire life inside of a community where racial epithets are bandied around carelessly, and attitudes towards anyone different are clearly born more from&nbsp; ignorance than legitimate fear, completely suggesting that everything Tony has ever known in the only neighborhood and community he has ever known (and will most likely never leave), has exclusively been taught, handed down and accepted blindly. And so, with Tony Lip, we are experiencing one character isolated from everything outside of his very small window to the world.<br /><br />Yes, Tony houses racist attitudes but is he definitely a racist? I would think that a full fledged racist would have immediately walked out of the door upon simply meeting Dr. Don Shirley, and he certainly would never have accepted employment that placed him in a position of servitude to a Black man.<br /><br />Yet, he does accept and the further the film travels and the darker the film becomes as the two men extend deeper into the South, where issues of racism are more overt--including an unfortunate altercation with police during an unfortunate detour into a "Sundown Town" and a powerful sequence where the high society establishment at which Dr. Shirley is scheduled to perform refuses to seat him for dinner in their own restaurant--it does not take terribly much for Tony to take Dr. Shirley's side...yes first, it is because it is his job, but soon and crucially, it is because it is the human thing to do.<br /><br />That being said, Tony is forced to confront his own prejudices in subtler ways, especially when he is a figure who claims to hate Black people while loving Black culture, which then fuels his stereotypes about Black people, all of which are torn apart by the existence of Dr. Don Shirley, who doesn't fit into any conceivable box Tony wishes to place him.<br /><br />In all of the ways Tony appreciates Shirley's elegance--most notably in his coaching and re-writes of the love letters Tony sends home to Dolores (a very sweet touch)--Tony's own sense of inferiority rises its ugliest head when he challenges Shirley's "Blackness" regarding "Black" foods Shirley doesn't eat and the Black musicians he doesn't listen to. "I'm Blacker than YOU!!" he admonishes towards Dr. Shirley.<br /><br />Think about this for a moment or two. To possess the audacity, arrogance, and misguided sense of privilege to feel righteous enough to define the existence of another person. Indeed during moments like this one in "Green Book," we are witness to Tony's own sense of White privilege as he inflicts it upon Dr. Don Shirley as well as an unveiling of his own dark insecurities about what kind of a human being he is to proclaim such knowledge over another he <i>knows</i> he knows NOTHING about.<br /><br />As with every performance that I have witnessed from Viggo Mortensen, his work as Tony is rich, complete and one that exists only within the cinematic universe that surrounds him, ensuring that any past performances, and our memories of them, never creep into our "Green Book" viewing experience.<br /><br />As terrific as Viggo Mortensen is, Mahershala Ali's performance as Dr. Don Shirley is mesmerizing in its depth, dignity, sorrow, pain, empathy and grace. Certainly this portrayal could have easily existed as nothing more than a persnickety caricature, an updated version of the cruel stereotype of the "uppity Negro." But no.<br /><br />As we have already seen in films such as <b>Justin Tipping's "Kicks" (2016)</b> and his Oscar winning performance in <b>Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" (2016), </b>Ali has more than proven himself to being the caliber of actor to immerse himself into the full histories of his characters, regardless of how much screen time he owns. And in doing so, he completely upends all aspects of whatever stereotypes and prejudices viewers may house towards the characters he portrays. He opens his mouth, you regard his eyes and with a sublime immediacy, all you ultimately witness is the content of character, the power of soul.<br /><br />With regards to the criticism of this character essentially serving no other purpose than to exist as the "Magic Negro," I vehemently disagree with that assessment as Mahershala Ali's performance is beautifully nuanced and multi-layered. For the role of the affluent, highly educated, eclectic, artistic, proud and dignified Dr. Don Shirley, Mahershala Ali is indeed presenting a form of superior Black excellence, a miracle unto itself considering the time period.<br /><br />But, most importantly, Ali is also delivering a truly lived in, and often deeply painful character study of a soul in isolation as his wealth, talent, education, choice of music he performs, diction and elocution run in contrast to what both Blacks <i>and </i>Whites believe Black people are and can only exist as, a brutal quandary for countless people of color...including myself. In addition to race, there is also the aspect of Shirley's homosexuality, briefly presented in the film but a crucial characteristic that only serves to enhance his sense of disconnect from his own race, other races and sadly, even his own brother, from whom he is essentially estranged.<br /><br />It woud be more than enough for Shirley to undergo a concert tour of high White society enduring a variety of forms of racism the entire way--including the reality of having to travel via <i>Green Book</i> in the first place--while still possessing the wherewithal to perform at the eight of his artistic powers and also maintaining a sense of dignity and integrity in a world that refuses to view him as human. But, there is always more to endure when one is a Black man in a White world, especially one like Dr. Don Shirley. And for that matter, there is always more to endure when existing as a Black man in a Black world, when the Black man in question&nbsp; who nurses his pain with alcohol nightly.<br /><br />With Tony Lip and Dr. Don Shirley, the journey of "Green Book" is literal, emotional and cerebral as the film simply presents the conceit of how much we could actually learn about each other if we just took the time to talk to each other, to sit and listen, to regard and to actually be honest with ourselves enough to admit to our own prejudices and when we do not understand something or someone who is foreign to ourselves, especially now as we are all so entrenched within our own societal camps&nbsp;<br /><br />I do realize that does sound more than a little naive. And I guess that it is. Additionally, the film does veer towards a bit of the formulaic and some elements of its road movie structure are a tad predictable. But, in all honesty, these are minor quibbles for a film this well intentioned and executed. Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" is a quietly powerful humanistic vision of possibility and wouldn't the possibilities that can occur when we value each other's differences while discovering the similarities between ourselves in the process make for a better world?<br /><br />Imagine...Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-73329447393357271452019-02-01T02:38:00.004-08:002019-02-01T02:38:36.888-08:00SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR FEBRUARY 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9P1zAKAV6PE/XFOqdV1IphI/AAAAAAAAOiI/WMtBIwNuGR42e77GLdVECGTrDjA8GBvmACLcBGAs/s1600/Toothless_Gallery_httyd2_3wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1095" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9P1zAKAV6PE/XFOqdV1IphI/AAAAAAAAOiI/WMtBIwNuGR42e77GLdVECGTrDjA8GBvmACLcBGAs/s400/Toothless_Gallery_httyd2_3wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>There he is!!! My favorite dragon ever...Toothless!! And this month, we shall be witnessing him and his adventures with Hiccup for the final time.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rr4dIit0-fk/XFOzC2AmkYI/AAAAAAAAOiU/AHG3WqmiAos_cZ0D1lM0tKzZcCWgt0-IwCLcBGAs/s1600/HTTYD-3-700x447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="700" height="204" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rr4dIit0-fk/XFOzC2AmkYI/AAAAAAAAOiU/AHG3WqmiAos_cZ0D1lM0tKzZcCWgt0-IwCLcBGAs/s320/HTTYD-3-700x447.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Yes dear readers, this month, <b>Director Dean DeBlois' "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," </b>the third and now final installment will be released and I am simultaneously excited and apprehensive about it as the previous two chapters elicited some powerfully charged and fully unexpected emotions through their beautifully rich storytelling and characterizations. Here is hoping the very best has been saved for last...I'll be sure to have Kleenex handy for myself.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yE7UspABK4c/XFO2afMIM6I/AAAAAAAAOig/nVQVrEFv7K8NHqBxBtPlfnXplcRF76QLACLcBGAs/s1600/oscars-academy-awards-best-picture-category.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yE7UspABK4c/XFO2afMIM6I/AAAAAAAAOig/nVQVrEFv7K8NHqBxBtPlfnXplcRF76QLACLcBGAs/s320/oscars-academy-awards-best-picture-category.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Now of course, on <b>February 24th,</b> I'll be ready for the <b>91st annual Academy Awards</b> telecast and to prepare, I will unveil my annual <b>Savage Scorecard</b> series, which details my favorite and least favorite films of 2018.<br /><br />Again, lots to write and also as always, wish me luck...and oh yes, I'll see you when the house lights go down!!!!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-76883034476775210262019-01-22T20:46:00.005-08:002019-01-22T20:46:30.122-08:00REACTIONS TO THE OSCAR NOMINATIONS: A SAVAGE CINEMA EXCLUSIVE <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppV3KxzxeO0/XEfB05PhV6I/AAAAAAAAOfI/m67f-TRjJAAr4sQ4q4ZUJ2mZVVXaeUcRQCLcBGAs/s1600/oscar-2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="807" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppV3KxzxeO0/XEfB05PhV6I/AAAAAAAAOfI/m67f-TRjJAAr4sQ4q4ZUJ2mZVVXaeUcRQCLcBGAs/s400/oscar-2019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And we are off once again, dear readers...but why is it that I don't feel nearly as excited as in years past.<br /><br />Look...do not get me wrong. After reading about this year's nominations for the 2019 Academy Awards, I was immediately thrilled about two items:<br /><br />1. <b>Ryan Coogler's&nbsp;"Black Panther" </b>was one of the eight nominees for <b>BEST&nbsp; PICTURE</b>, certainly notable for being the first superhero themed film to receive such recognition but also, because it was undeniably one of the very best films of 2018 regardless of genre.<br /><br />2. Secondly, <b>Writer/Producer/Director Spike Lee</b>, was FINALLY nominated in the category of <b>Best Director,</b> this time for his superior helming of <b>"BlacKKKlansman," </b>also an exceedingly well deserved <b>Best Picture</b> candidate. This long overdue recognition serves as Lee's very first nomination in this category after 30 plus illustrious years as one of America's finest filmmakers, in my opinion.<br /><br />But aside from those two nominations, this year's nominations felt to be overly predictable, in ways that were more than deserved and other, which dishearteningly felt like the result of excessive studio campaigning rather than an honest representation of what the very best cinema that 2018 had to offer--and for my time and money, 2018 was an exceptional year at the movies.<br /><br />It is of no secret to me that the Oscar season possesses more than its share of elements that are akin to a horse race rather than a celebration of cinematic art. but there felt to be something different in the air this time around. I guess it is a certain obviousness to the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing that is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, especially as aspects of the film industry and the world of how films are even being distributed and viewed have changed dramatically.<br /><br />With the eight Best Picture nominees, I have currently seen five--<b>"Bohemian Rhapsody," "The Favourite," "A Star Is Born" </b>as well as the aforementioned "Black Panther" and "BlacKKKlansman." <b>"Green Book"</b> I had missed due to personal issues between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I just haven't gotten myself to <b>"Vice"</b> just yet but hopefully, with their nominations, I'll now be able to catch up with both of those.<br /><br />And then...there's <b>Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma."</b><br /><br />"Roma," which was partially financed by <b>Netflix,</b> is indeed a heavy hitter critically and now with the Academy as it is standing tall with 10 nominations. It is the film that I wish to see the most out of the nominated films and especially because of its critical acclaim as well as my status as a fan of Cuaron's stellar cinematic work.<br /><i><br /></i><i>But</i>, I have not seen the film as I do not have Netflix, the platform upon which the film is currently streaming, and also because its theatrical release has been even less than scant, with no theater screenings at any theater whatsoever in my city of Madison, WI.&nbsp; For Netflix, regardless of whether the film wins Best Picture or not, it is a win-win situation for them as they can now become a major player against both the traditional and independent studio systems as well as continuing to claiming an exclusivity for their platform by having the product that you can only go to them to even see--an aspect that, as far as I am concerned, dilutes the art as well as the shared experience of the cinema as an art form!<br /><br />I resent not being able to see "Roma" at this time, frankly because I do not wish to feel forced into purchasing something I do not need just to watch one movie. Or two movies, for that matter as <b>The Coen Brothers' "The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs,"</b> a <i>second</i> Netflix exclusive, nominated for Oscars but a film I have been unable to see due to the lack of a theatrical release.<br /><br />I do bring this grievance up for the following reason: It is the irony of a streaming service, a corporation not remotely interested in making movies or the theater experience, arriving with the very motion picture that only an exclusive group of people can see at a time when the movies and movie going experience are existing at a particularly precarious period for filmmakers and audiences regarding which films are available and which films are even being made. For how can one really celebrate the art and artistry of the movies when one is unable to even see what is being held up as representative of the very best the movies have to offer in a given year?<br /><br />And then, on the opposite end, is "Bohemian Rhapsody" truly the very best the movies has to offer?<br /><br />Yes, I know that so many of you loved "Bohemian Rhapsody" and that you were not alone as it was indeed a box office smash and it took some surprise major wins at this year's Golden Globes. But for me, I can honestly think of 20 films that I felt represented a certain greatness (all will be revealed on this site soon), as well as better leading performances than <b>Rami Malek's</b> (honestly, <b>Ethan Hawke's</b> career best performance in <b>"First Reformed" </b>should have been recognized).<br /><br />For that matter, I have read similar criticisms towards "Green Book," again which I am unable to speak towards as I haven't had the chance to see it yet. But, I am concerned that we have a couple of popular but flawed films representing "THE BEST" when there were some truly great, exciting and downright audacious features that have not been recognized at all (Academy, you really dropped the ball by not showing <b>"Eighth Grade,"</b>&nbsp;<b>"The Hate U Give," "Won't You Be My Neighbor"</b> and especially <b>"Sorry To Bother You"</b> some love).<br /><br />Then, there were the typical Academy oddball moves regrading their snubs. Like, why were&nbsp;<b>Bradley Cooper</b>, <b>Peter Farrelly</b>&nbsp;and for the love of Pete, <b>Ryan Coogler </b>not nominated in the Best Director category for their work on "A Star Is Born," "Green Book," and "Black Panther" respectively? It is not as if the films directed themselves!<br /><br />Furthermore, <i>where were the female directors</i> this year?<br /><br />But of course, there was good news.<br /><br />&nbsp;For instance, and aside from "Black Panther" and Spike Lee, I was happy to see all three actresses--<b>Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone </b>and <b>Rachel Weisz</b>--all rightfully nominated for "The Favourite."&nbsp; I was thrilled that the great <b>Sam Elliot</b> finally received his first ever nomination, again, rightfully so, for his work in "A Star Is Born." The severely under-represented <b>"If Beale Street Could Talk"</b> from <b>Writer/Director Barry Jenkins</b> was otherwise correctly represented in the Best Adapted Screenplay category as well as for Best Original Score, which was so rapturously composed by <b>Nicholas Britell.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>Apples and oranges...apples and oranges...but even so, there is a ho-hum quality to the nominations overall, when they could have been more exciting and well rounded.<br /><br />Hopefully the host-less Oscar telecast on <b>February 24, 2019</b> will provide some excitement.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-3656537513556108232019-01-21T19:08:00.004-08:002019-01-21T19:17:12.670-08:00WE EXIST: a review of "Glass"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vY1iHBNNfvY/XEULzxj1rvI/AAAAAAAAOew/SxvCPOhyuSgfIa2FrkbQgqGBuGI_GtTxgCLcBGAs/s1600/glass-easter-eggs-reference-guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vY1iHBNNfvY/XEULzxj1rvI/AAAAAAAAOew/SxvCPOhyuSgfIa2FrkbQgqGBuGI_GtTxgCLcBGAs/s400/glass-easter-eggs-reference-guide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"GLASS"</b><br /><b>Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b>Hear me out, dear readers, for I have not lost my senses.<br /><br />In some ways, I have to admit to feeling somewhat resentful with feeling that I need to apologize for my feelings towards the latest film from Writer/Director M Night Shyamalan, a figure whose celebratory status as a filmmaker ascended spectacularly, plummeted profoundly and has begun a gradual ascension once more...although one that is housed with a certain skepticism at best and vehement disdain at worst.<br /><br />In fact, regarding the tenor of at least one review I happened to see regarding "Glass," Shyamalan's finale to the surprise trilogy that began with his finest film to date <b>"Unbreakable" (2000) </b>and continued with the claustrophobic freak flag that was <b>"Split" (2017)</b>, the writer of the piece ended up composing what I feel to be a film criticism cardinal sin: reviewing the person or public persona and the perceptions of either instead of <i>what is on the screen</i>.<br /><br />As for me, the filmography of M. Night Shyamalan has been one that I am admittedly affectionate towards. In some ways, the cinematic wine he serves just happens to be the very kind that I happen to enjoy, as he has long established a style, a tonality, a full idiosyncratic style and vision unlike anyone else. For that alone, I feel he is to be celebrated, or at least appreciated, for devising a point of view with his films, whether you like them or not.<br /><b><br /></b>Without question,&nbsp;<b>"The Sixth Sense" (1999)</b> still holds up after (good gracious!) 20 years. I believe that we can all agree on that assessment as it has long felt that people, including his detractors, will only allow him this one legitimate success. For me, I have found value with his misfires like <b>"Lady In The Water" (2006)</b> and even the much maligned <b>"The Happening" (2008)</b>, as they each did represent his artistic approach honestly but yes indeed...don't get me wrong and don't get me started on the disastrous <b>"The Last Airbender" (2010)</b>.<br /><br />I will concede that M. Night Shyamalan indeed may have lost his focus creatively for some time but beginning with the sneaky, creepy, small-scaled&nbsp;<b>" The Visit" (2015)</b>, he has been slowly rebuilding his brand as well as his confidence and with "Glass," for my sense and sensibilities, he has crafted not only his best film in years, but a terrific concluding chapter to a most unorthodox trilogy.<br /><br />Set a full 19 years after "Unbreakable" and three weeks after the grisly events of "Split," M. Night Shyamalan's "Glass" opens with Security Guard David Dunn (<b>Bruce Willis</b>), now working with his adult son Joseph (again played by <b>Spencer Treat Clark</b>) as the secret vigilante known in the media as The Overseer, as he is in hot pursuit of "The Horde," the full collective of 24 personalities inside of the dissociative identity disorder afflicted Kevin Wendell Crumb (<b>James McAvoy</b>).<br /><br />After a showdown with Kevin's most ferocious personality known only as "The Beast," both he and David are soon apprehended by the authorities and placed into a mental institution where they are each supervised by the facility's head psychiatrist Dr. Ellie Staple (<b>Sarah Paulson</b>), who is out to prove that both individuals are suffering from delusions of grandeur and actually do not possess superpowers like comic book heroes and villains.<br /><br />And what of the fragile boned yet feverishly agile minded comic book aficionado Elijah Price a.k.a. Mr. Glass (<b>Samuel L. Jackson</b>), who is also incarcerated in the institution by Dr. Staple? Well, despite his seemingly lobotomized appearance, one can never count this particularly insidious mastermind down for the count, now can we?<br /><br />As with all of M. Night Shyamalan's features, it is best to not divulge anything more than this basic plot description so as not to produce spoilers. While I am certain that many of you out there will not believe me and some of you may feel that I have gone out of my head, I'm telling you and I am sticking firmly by my assessment, as I sat and watched "Glass," I can honestly tell you that I was enormously entertained, engaged and even at times <i>enthralled</i> as Shyamalan again used his series, what is now being referred to as the&nbsp;<b>"Eastrail #177 Trilogy," </b>to inject vibrant new life into a film genre that desperately needs a fresher, and decidedly more unique perspective.&nbsp;<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br />It has indeed been a long and strange journey from "Unbreakable" and "Split" to "Glass" regarding the cinematic landscape that surrounds all three films and in a way, "Glass" faces more than a bit of an uphill battle and not just from Shyamalan's hungry critics. Back in 2000, the superhero genre in film was essentially non-existent, or better yet, it was nothing approaching the box office behemoths those sorts of films receive today.<br /><br />In true Shyamalan fashion, "Unbreakable" made my jaw hit the ground so powerfully in that film's final moments when he pulled back the curtain to reveal that what we had been watching, in addition to a moody, meandering, existential thriller was indeed a comic book superhero origin story, an odd conceit at that time. Yet now with "Glass," you are unable to throw a pebble and not hit 20 superhero themed movies and television programs, therefore any sense of novelty has been erased, threatening to make Shyamalan's film just another one in the more than overstuffed pack.<br /><br />I have spent considerable time and energy over the years bemoaning the sheer amount of superhero themed material that has been, and is continuing to be, released in our theaters currently and I will spare you the rants once again. But I do bring it up for a specific reason in comparison with what I experienced with "Glass."&nbsp; What truly set M. Night Shyamalan's film miles apart from so many other in this specific genre is a singular point of view, which would then make for a wholly unique film experience, regardless if there were zero comic book themed film playing in our multiplexes or if there were 100.<br /><br />For what we are seeing within the genre itself is a relative sameness that has now become as predictable as the sun rising each morning. By now, we understand how these films work, what they do, how they operate and what differentiates them is a matter of quality, so to speak. Not everything is able to be what <b>Christopher Nolan</b> accomplished with his <b>"Dark Knight Trilogy" (2005/2008/2012)</b>, but, make no mistake, we are all receiving a brand that is dictated by certain qualities and aesthetics that are inherent to the genre, thus ensuring their continued financial success.<br /><br />Yet, from a filmmaking standpoint, these sorts of films do indeed carry a certain directorial anonymity. Even the <b>Marvel Comics films</b>, as good as they are, are essentially anonymous works. Really, aside from <b>Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" (2018)</b>, can you really speak of the artistic differences between say <b>Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" (2011), Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man" (2015) and&nbsp; Scott Derrickson's "Doctor Strange" (2016) </b>and <b>Jon Watts' "Spider-Man:&nbsp; Homecoming" (2017)</b>? No shade intended for any of those movies but I am expressing this thought to establish that the Marvel films have established a brand that dictates a particular lack of individualized artistic personality.<br /><br />With "Glass" on the other hand, we are firmly placed into M. Night Shyamalan's cinematic universe and no one else's and he is representing no one other than himself, therefore automatically setting him and his film completely apart from all other films in the genre while also celebrating and often deconstructing and re-building the genre simultaneously. Working brilliantly alongside <b>Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis, Composer West Dylan Thordson </b>and his entire set design crew, Shyamalan has ensured that his film looks and honestly, <i>sounds</i> unlike any other film within the genre as he utilizes his trademark slow burn, dialogue heavy style to grand effect, keeping us all intensely focused and increasing unhinged due to the mounting, menacing developments within the story and characters.<br /><br />Just regard how Shyamalan frames his action, never once falling into the ADD editing styles and CGI bombast that are now pre-requisites of the genre. He explicitly knows precisely what to reveal and when, just what should be left within the frame and what should be left out. Seemingly simple movement make for grand effects throughout "Glass" and I so appreciated the visual skill on display. To that end, I loved how color was used throughout the film as certain colors represented certain characters in a truly lush comic book fashion.<br /><br />But all of those aesthetic touches would mean nothing without a story and I felt that Shyamalan was working in peak form with "Glass," allowing the film to serve as its own entity while also wrapping up a film trilogy is high style. As the titular Mr. Glass, Samuel L. Jackson is obviously having a delicious time portraying his evil genius, making him a figure to be feared as well as one to empathize with as his horrific actions speak to his existential crisis of discovering and living up to what he believes to be his life's purpose. Sometimes, there is nothing more joyous than seeing and hearing Samuel L. Jackson tear into a luxurious monologue and Shyamalan has not let him down by supplying him with several that flow as musically as ever.&nbsp; <br /><br />Sarah Paulson struck a commanding yet deeply eerie presence as Dr. Staple, a figure who takes hold of the films lengthy mid-section as she attempts to convince all three figures that they are not who or what they each believe themselves to be. So focused Paulson is, again mastering Shyamalan's massive dialogue to the point where she was nearly convincing me that I had not seen what I know I had seen over the previous two films.<br /><br />But James McAvoy, as with "Split," is a veritable hurricane to regard. Obviously thrilled with being completely let off of the chain as he tackles a whopping 24 personalities, McAvoy remains so beautifully in control of his acting powers, never losing focus and exploring his wonderful physicality throughout, making his body appear to magically shrink and even grow in size to complement the characters of the never aging 9 year old boy, the prim and proper older woman or the full horrifyingly ravenous force of the Beast.<br /><br />Even Shyamalan seems to be gleefully rubbing his hands with his good fortune in casting James McAvoy as he has designed a couple of mesmerizing sequences that display McAvoy altering personalities in real time from one to the next, sometimes in a rapid succession. And every single time, McAvoy's transformations are complete, ensuring that we, in the audience, are seeing and fully understanding which persona poor Kevin has been possessed by. James McAvoy is absolutely...ahem...<i>marvel</i>ous.<br /><br />And finally, I loved how self-aware "Glass" happened to be, serving up a comic book story all the while knowing that it is a comic book story. For some, it may read as yet another example of M. Night Shyamalan's perceived rampant ego but for me, it was just good old fashioned storytelling at work. Storytelling that enveloped me and made me hungry to know what was coming next and how all three films connected explicitly, a quality I felt Shyamalan served to strong effect.<br /><br />I know. I know. I am certain that many of you will remain unconvinced regardless of my words and may not even try to see this film. Or you may go anyway and hate it upon principle. I do understand that. Believe me, I think that <b>Michael Bay</b>, for instance is the death of cinema itself. But that being said, I am willing to give him a chance and give praise should I feel that anything he devised spoke to me positively.<br /><br />So, I just ask the same of you regarding M. Night Shyamalan's "Glass,"&nbsp; a riveting dark dream of a comic book tale presented in full, unapologetic, unrepentantly personalized style and substance.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-19040541305710024742019-01-07T20:05:00.004-08:002019-01-07T20:05:44.120-08:00THE ENDURANCE OF BLACK LOVE IN WHITE AMERICA: a review of "If Beale Street Could Talk"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73PMpue0J0M/XDK7mmQ4eZI/AAAAAAAAOc8/ZVQoge38a8wOQB9mVz3h8rWp8EJS-FtCwCLcBGAs/s1600/If-Beale-Street-Could-Talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="605" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73PMpue0J0M/XDK7mmQ4eZI/AAAAAAAAOc8/ZVQoge38a8wOQB9mVz3h8rWp8EJS-FtCwCLcBGAs/s400/If-Beale-Street-Could-Talk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"</b><br /><b>Based upon the novel by James Baldwin</b><br /><b>Written For The Screen and Directed&nbsp;by Barry Jenkins</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED R</b><br /><b><br /></b>A film of devastating beauty.<br /><br />It has not been lost on me whatsoever, that within this purely exceptional cinematic year, we have been exuberantly presented with an unusually high amount of excellence regarding Black cinema. From superhero epics (<b>Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther"</b>), to children's fantasias (<b>Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle In Time"</b>), to bare knuckled, high wire satires (<b>Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You"</b>), to crowd pleasing blockbusters (<b>Steven Caple Jr.'s "Creed II"</b>), to coming of age dramas (<b>George Tillman Jr.'s "The Hate U Give"</b>) and of course, <b>Spike Lee's</b> blistering <b>"BlacKKKlansman,"</b>&nbsp;2018 truly delivered a cinematic spectrum pertaining to the Black Experience unlike anything I have seen in years past.<br /><br />And now, as I have taken in Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk," his adaptation of the James Baldwin novel as well as his follow up to the Oscar Best Picture winning <b>"Moonlight" (2016)</b>, not only has Black cinema received one of its highest achievements this year, the movies as a whole, and therefore all of us who love the movies, have been given what could only be considered to be a gift.<br /><br />Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk" is a work of visionary elegance, a sumptuous tone poem that simultaneously soars and plunges into the profoundly urgent yet tender heart of its central love story and the uncompromisingly dark heart and shameful indifference of America's relentless injustices. In what is unquestionably one of the year's most humane films, we also have one of its finest. It is just a privilege to see something as supremely artful as what Barry Jenkins has delivered to all of us.<br /><br />Just as with the James Baldwin novel from which it is based, "If Beale Street Could Talk" takes place in Harlem during the early 1970's and centers itself around the relationship between the film's narrator, 19 year old Tish Rivers (<b>KiKi Layne</b>) and her 22 year old artist/fiancee Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (<b>Stephan James</b>). Cherished best friends since childhood, now grown into committed lovers with hopes of beginning their adult lives together, which includes becoming parents to their unborn child, find themselves with dreams crucially deferred as Fonny is falsely accused of rape and imprisoned, leaving Tish to endure her pregnancy without him.<br /><br />While undoubtedly terrified, Tish and Fonny remain determined to not allow their love for each other to falter, even as jail eats away at Fonny's spirit. Meanwhile, Tish is surrounded and held upright by the tenacious love of her family, which includes her salt-of-the-Earth Father, Joseph (<b>the excellent Colman Domingo</b>), her fiercely compassionate Mother, Sharon (<b>the inimitable Regina King</b>) and her sharp tongued sister Ernestine (<b>Teyonah Paris</b>), each of whom all attempt to discover solutions to Fonny's plight and ultimately, get him freed.<br /><br />Told in an exquisite, non-linear structure, Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk" is a film that is decidedly and purposefully not in any hurry to reach any conclusions or destination. It is a work that unfolds luxuriously. Working in breathtaking tandem with <b>Cinematographer James Laxton</b> and most crucially with <b>Composer Nicholas Britell's </b>elegant, melancholic score, Jenkins has again delivered a stunning, languid film, an experience of expressionistic poetry fully designed for audiences to luxuriate themselves within the spoken and visual language as if one is sitting alone reading and fully digesting a series of sonnets.<br /><br />Barry Jenkins is not interested in extolling an agenda, or even instructing the viewer how to think or feel. But with that, he has presented a work of pure artistry and aching empathy as his presentations of African-Americans' upended dreams merged completely with the persistence of hope, love, family and justice make the film as powerful a statement about being Black in America as any more incendiary works about the same subject matter.&nbsp; <br /><br />In many ways, the film feels like a series of moments, or better yet, memories of moments, all played back to Tish, and therefore, to us in the audience, much like our own memories--almost determinedly refusing to run in the sequence in which they occurred in real life, but as some sort of mental patchwork as Tish tries to stitch together said moments in order to make greater sense of the tragedy that has only continued to exist and quite possibly may refuse to conclude.<br /><br />In doing so, what we are given is the basis, strength and dogged endurance of the film's love story between Tish and Fonny. A walk in the rain after a meal in Spanish Harlem. The joy in, at long last, being accepted into renting and moving into the first real address of their young adult lives. Marveling at sharing baths together as small children to the realization of their deep and pure emotional connection as lovers. Making love for the first time in a basement apartment with raindrops clearly audible outdoors. Just the look of unending love from one set of eyes and soul to the other. To me, this was a cinematic love story that moved like <b>Miles Davis' "Sketches Of Spain" (released July 18, 1960)</b> and was as lush as the most colorful <b>Picasso</b> paintings.<br /><br />Barry Jenkins doesn't just show us the love, he bathes us inside of it, through his peerless usage of color, lighting and the superlative work from his two leads, KiKi Layne and Stephen James, two actors that I am unfamiliar with yet will firmly keep my eyes open for from now own as their respective performances, weaved the dreamlike and a grounded, multi-layered quality that spoke to the romantic heights and the brutality of the injustice that kept them apart and solely through a racist fallacy and judicial system.&nbsp;<br /><br />To that end, Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk" could serve as a companion piece to both <b>Steve McQueen's "12 Years A Slave" (2013)</b> and <b>Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station" (2013), </b>two films that deftly illustrate that for Blacks in America, we are never as free as we just may think or believe ourselves to be. That whatever freedoms that we may happen to possess can be taken away and even obliterated within an instant, leaving us trapped in worlds we never created for ourselves, with people who disregard our shared humanity for we are never seen as human beings, and that is if we are not extinguished altogether.<br /><br />Through Tish, we are witnessing an awakening. Not to suggest that she is necessarily naive or viewers the world through rose colored glasses, especially considering the straightforward nature of her family. But, it is when she gradually moves from family to Fonny to the larger outside world that her worldview builds, is challenged and a greater realization and understanding is unearthed as a result.<br /><br />A stunning sequence late in the film, as she is employed as the first Black female at a department store makeup counter, showcases her perceptiveness with how she is viewed and treated by Black and White male customers and the minute details revealed, and as riveting as they are, provide a window into the world of Black women that is, in essence, unseen in modern cinema and therefore unacknowledged in the real world for who else would know or empathize?<br /><br />Tish's awakening is mirrored with or own as we view this film and to that end, connects us even greater to the love she holds for Fonny and the love he holds for her in return. Again, Jenkins simultaneously lifts us in its purity and crushing us in its adversity, an adversity that is delivered to a superior, haunting degree through the character of Daniel Carty (played by the enormously gifted<b> Brian Tyree Henry </b>from <b>FX's "Atlanta"</b>), an older friend of Fonny's, just released from his own falsely accused jail time. His monologue, which contains revelations about himself and his place as a Black man in a White world, is quietly shattering in its sobering reality and it rightfully hovers throughout the film afterwards as a cloud of sorrow.<br /><br />It is this very awakening that permeates throughout the entirety of "If Beale Street Could Talk" as Barry Jenkins also gives us a front row seat into the diversity of the Black community from families that are more secular, to ones that are more religiously devout and the divide that exists in between. Social-political outlooks that are more conservative to liberal are presented as well, again showcasing the reality that African-Americans are not a monolithic unit who work as if within a hive, all holding beliefs of the same mind.<br /><br />Yet, above all else, Jenkins celebrates the tenacity that exists within the love of the Black family, and therefore, the love that has afforded us our continued existence within a corrupt system that is designed for us to not survive. Love will find a way for working class Black Fathers to somehow find the money to pay the young Jewish attorney's legal fees to try and get Fonny released from prison. Love will find a way for a Black Mother to travel to Puerto Rico to hopefully confront the woman who wrongfully accused Fonny, thus having him arrested. And love will find a way to keep Fonny's soul alive behind bars when all hopes for release are running out. And even still, Jenkins is wise to question that for all love's power, is love ever really enough when faced with racist inhumanity?<br /><br />By the film's end, I experienced this feeling of submergence. I just succumbed. I succumbed to the sheer weight of this transcendent experience that Barry Jenkins has devised. All of the pieces were finally in place and the reality settled itself into the Black American tragedy that has happened before, and now and for that matter, the future as well. For if we are unable to be viewed as equally worthy of life and love as our racial counterparts, will true freedom ever be achieved, regardless of the love we hold for each other, and especially when hope is lost?<br /><br />Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk" is an undeniable work of art, filmmaking excellence, Black or otherwise, at its most resplendent.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-55474173139853396352019-01-01T05:25:00.003-08:002019-01-01T05:25:34.877-08:00SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR JANUARY 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--P0pzzG4lE0/XCqjXtETfKI/AAAAAAAAOXY/z37XcDYFO3433Hh-3ytsYI4m0GpmEaWsACLcBGAs/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--P0pzzG4lE0/XCqjXtETfKI/AAAAAAAAOXY/z37XcDYFO3433Hh-3ytsYI4m0GpmEaWsACLcBGAs/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!<br /><br />As the cinematic year of 209 begins, I am hoping that during this first month of the new year, I am able to move forwards and finish up some 2018 duties as well.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hjg9VYOKjeU/XCqjsbI2aWI/AAAAAAAAOXg/eKvJI7iJ-_gD6AyTgvD1u7RhUau7emqPgCLcBGAs/s1600/pjimage-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hjg9VYOKjeU/XCqjsbI2aWI/AAAAAAAAOXg/eKvJI7iJ-_gD6AyTgvD1u7RhUau7emqPgCLcBGAs/s400/pjimage-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>1. "GLASS"</b><br />I could not be more excited about this film, the third installment in <b>Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan's</b> unorthodox, unexpected comic book saga, which began with <b>"Unbreakable" (2000) </b>and continued with <b>"Split" (2017). </b>Hopes are high for Shayamalan to pull this one out. Let's hope that he can do it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5XiG63vWi2I/XCqkeoKN_-I/AAAAAAAAOXo/OyKQeJeYoysfacemRiVBNW_s9w02vE3fwCLcBGAs/s1600/if-beale-street-could-talk-british-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5XiG63vWi2I/XCqkeoKN_-I/AAAAAAAAOXo/OyKQeJeYoysfacemRiVBNW_s9w02vE3fwCLcBGAs/s400/if-beale-street-could-talk-british-movie-poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;<b>2. "IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"</b><br />I have been most anxious to see what <b>Writer/Director Barry Jenkins</b> would come up with to follow up his Oscar winning <b>"Moonlight" (2016)</b> and I believe that this coming weekend, the film will, at long last, arrive in my city.<br /><br />And after I see that film, I will begin to compile my 2018 wrap up, the annual <b>Savage Scorecard</b> series, detailing my favorite and least favorite films of the year.<br /><br />So, with that, please do have me in your thoughts and I will pledge to give you my very best. And as always, I'll see you when the house lights go down!!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-33881252035693229082018-12-30T21:35:00.001-08:002018-12-30T21:35:13.121-08:00LOST IN CYBERSPACE: a review of "Searching"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6hHulYeYeg/XCkusC_YGTI/AAAAAAAAOXA/h0qoaWMyRagHM416vmAxH31IH91VUmn7gCLcBGAs/s1600/Searching-Movie-Blu-Ray-Dvd-Details-Release-Date.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="798" height="210" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6hHulYeYeg/XCkusC_YGTI/AAAAAAAAOXA/h0qoaWMyRagHM416vmAxH31IH91VUmn7gCLcBGAs/s400/Searching-Movie-Blu-Ray-Dvd-Details-Release-Date.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"SEARCHING"</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by Aneesh Chaganty &amp; Sev Ohanian</b><br /><b>Directed by Aneesh Chaganty</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b>This one really shook and rattled me down to my bones.<br /><br />I will forever appreciate when a film can take me completely by surprise and for my sense and sensibilities, Director Aneesh Chaganty's film debut "Searching" is 2018's finest thriller and believe me, I never saw this one coming. Chaganty has created a powerful thriller that exists without graphic violence, without prefabricated set-ups and preposterous outcomes.<br /><br />It is a film that is set and planted so firmly inside what is now the mundane in our 21st century societal landscape regarding our relationship with electronics, the internet and social media, that the results nearly push the thriller element into sheer horror, for how rapidly and how realistically the very premise could logically occur to any one of us in the real world. Brilliantly possessing and utilizing more thought that it ever needed to have, "Searching" is a popcorn thriller re-contextualized into a multi-layered experience that plunges into the dark heart of our on-line obsessions and dependency. And through Aneesh Chaganty's innovative techniques (more on that later), "Searching" grows into something that is nothing less than ingenious in its white knuckle tension as well as its deeply astute societal commentary.<br /><br />Set in San Jose, California, "Searching" stars <b>John Cho</b> as David Kim, devoted husband to Pamela Kim (<b>Sara Sohn</b>) and Father to their daughter Margot (<b>Michelle La</b>). After Pamela's death from lymphoma, David and Margot, while still close, gradually begin to emotionally drift apart, never connecting upon the loss that has forever altered their lives together as well as individually.<br /><br />One night, Margot visits a friend's house for a school study group. Later that night, Margot attempts to call David three different times to no avail as her Father is sound asleep. By morning, as David awakens and spends the day trying to re-connect with Margot, he soon discovers that she is indeed missing, thus beginning a search into her whereabouts with the aid of Detective Rosemary Vick (<b>Debra Messing</b>).<br /><br />This is as far as I am willing to go with plot description regarding the film. But in essence, what I have given you is as much as you need heading into Aneesh Chaganty's "Searching," a film that again takes the exceedingly familiar,&nbsp; so familiar that it is now commonplace and even innocuous, and transforms it into something utterly terrifying. I would not be surprised if your perceptions are altered after viewing this film, just as mine were. So much so, that logging onto my favorite sites felt markedly foreign all over again...and to the point of being absolutely sinister.<br /><br />Now, regardless of everything that we have been hearing in the news regarding privacy issues and the dissemination of fake news, I am not the person to jump onto the "Facebook Is Evil" bandwagon. Facebook is not the monster, in and of itself, for everything depends upon how it is being used and the intentions of the user.<br /><br />That being said, "Searching" feels like the perfect extension of films like <b>David Fincher's "The Social Network" (2010)</b> and even <b>Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade"</b> from this year, as the former film served as a societal warning to our decreasing sense of humanity as or technological advances continued to increase, while the latter delved into our societal dependence upon social media and the soul sickness that has resulted from our human disconnections with each other plus the multiple lives we live and cultivate when comparing our activities within the real and virtual worlds.&nbsp; <br /><br />It is this very conceit and perspective that makes "Searching" such an insidious feature, especially as Chaganty is never hyperbolic in his storytelling or messaging, simply allowing everything to unfold in a matter-of-fact fashion that only accentuates the terror as the social media landscape is so vast, uncharted and therefore, unchecked and regulated, seemingly impossible to ever being effectively policed. We are shown precisely just how easy it is to hack into another's social media accounts, how simple it is to assume another identity, how the creating of new personas and on-line lives is simultaneously cunning as well as almost seen as an afterthought.<br /><br />This thematic quality ties directly into the aforementioned technique that Chaganty employs in "Searching" and at is he has chosen to tell his story solely through the lens of social media, text messages, laptop and surveillance cameras, television broadcasts and the like, meaning not one scene in the film is set explicitly in the real word as everything is viewed through another lens.<br /><br />This effect, which could have completely existed as a gimmick, is in actuality superbly and seamlessly executed, allowing the film to function as an unnerving Hall of Mirrors for the characters as well as ourselves, as David Kim, through his relentless pursuit of his daughter, is forced to confront his impressions of the person he knows in the real world and the greater truth of the person that exists within the internet and social media, therefore upending everything that he ever knew to be real about this child and ultimately, his own life and family.&nbsp;<br /><br />Smartly not content to just allow "Searchng" to exist as a dizzyingly inventive visual feat, Aneesh Chaganty has ensured that his film is cemented with a series of compelling and realistic characters and motivations that allows the thriller to unfold cleanly and almost as akin to a magic trick being slowly unveiled before our eyes.<br /><br />Yes, it is an intense as something like <b>Ron Howard's "Ransom" (1996)</b>, for example. But what made the film burrow deeply under my skin was all contained in the film's opening minutes as we witness the life and times of the Kim family, entirely through photos, home videos taken via computer cameras, computer calendars and so on, from Margot's earliest years through her Mother Pamela's death, making for a sequence that was as devastating as the opening sequence from <b>Pixar and Pete Doctor's "Up" (2009). </b>"Searching" could have easily existed as the next revenge film like <b>Pierre Morel's "Taken" (2008)</b>. But Chaganty gave us something exceedingly better, deeper, and defiantly more palpable in its wrenching tension, and it was all due to its overall sense of humanity.<br /><br />In addition to serving as a thriller and cultural commentary, "Searching" is also a stirring meditation upon grief and mourning. Just look at the film's title and especially at John Cho's pitch perfect performance (once again, representation is everything as "Searching" marks itself as the <i>first</i> American thriller headlined by an Asian-American), as we are easily able to regard the multiple meanings implicit in the film's name, Yes, David Kim is literally searching for his daughter. Yet, we are also asked to read the word regarding how it is used within our lives within the internet as well as David and Margot's pursuit of solace in the aftermath of Pamela's death, which rightfully hangs over the entire film as a cloud of unending sorrow.<br /><br />That feeling of loss is indeed the soulful core of Aneesh Chaganty's "Searching." The loss of loved ones and family but perhaps, even greater, the gradual yet rapid loss of ourselves over something that is, in essence, quite meaningless.<br /><br /><b><u>SAVAGE POSTSCRIPT</u></b><br />This message is intended for those of you who happen to be parents, particularly of teenagers. As stated, there is nothing gratuitous within "Searching." No graphic violence or anything of that salacious content.<br /><br />However, I do think that what is presented in the film is done so through a viewpoint that is more realistic than escapist making the drama of the film much more aching than one might envision before heading into this movie. Perhaps I might be over-sensitive but it did cross my mind as I watched the film and remarked upon how effective and even moving the experience was for me...and I do not have children of my own at all.&nbsp;<br /><br />Yet, if by seeing this film one was to become more watchful of their child's on-line activities, then I would imagine that the film has made a positive impact. To that end, this postscript is not to be read as a warning for you.<br /><br />Just some words of preparation from your friendly neighborhood film enthusiast.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-64416932908027427032018-12-30T05:44:00.002-08:002018-12-30T05:44:14.641-08:00HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY TO SAVAGE CINEMA!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aqP-yJWVFr4/XCassOKAdhI/AAAAAAAAOWo/375QCtb1fe8OAt2M4sIGNJVNMpbnjr5JwCLcBGAs/s1600/Movie%252BTheater%252B1280x720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="810" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aqP-yJWVFr4/XCassOKAdhI/AAAAAAAAOWo/375QCtb1fe8OAt2M4sIGNJVNMpbnjr5JwCLcBGAs/s400/Movie%252BTheater%252B1280x720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Thank you.<br /><br />There is this suggested sense of small-ness that is connected to those two words but I graciously and politely implore of all of you, dear readers, to please recognize and gather the magnitude contained within those two seemingly tiny words.<br /><br />It was nine years ago today as I sat in the basement of my parents' house in south suburban Chicago, IL when I first hatched this blogsite with the hopes and wishes to simply have a "home" to house my musings about the movies that I saw in my cinematic travels.<br /><br />Looking back, I remain so humbled that all of this time has passed and all of these words have been written and even read! Certainly, I would have written all of these reviews regardless of having an audience or not. But, to have earned your attention, to have earned your praise, to have earned your time in reading even one word that I have written in this world which is jockeying for our eyeballs all of the time...well, that makes me feel very blessed...<br /><br />After all of this time, plus my other blogsite <b>Synesthesia,&nbsp;</b>additional real world duties and responsibilities and now, with the passing of my Dad three weeks ago, life certainly does look and feel very different than it once did. I wish to assure you that my love for movies and writing remains as powerful as it ever has and I pledge to do my very best in continuing what has begun and to also perform to the best of my abilities to keep Savage Cinema a positive on-line home for you to visit and engage with me.<br /><br />So...again, and as always, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, 1000 TIMES THANK YOU!!!<br /><br />Let's make it to a full decade together!!!! I don't wish to be here without you!!!Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-70241058440776052532018-12-28T20:29:00.003-08:002018-12-28T20:29:25.149-08:00LEGACY: a review of "Creed II"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pozp81KXep0/XASbVh944DI/AAAAAAAAOVs/e_cn5BooXVgmAjpdGF2hQa9HRBdPFM8zQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen_Shot_2018_09_26_at_12.13.14_PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1176" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pozp81KXep0/XASbVh944DI/AAAAAAAAOVs/e_cn5BooXVgmAjpdGF2hQa9HRBdPFM8zQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen_Shot_2018_09_26_at_12.13.14_PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>"CREED II"</b><br /><b>Based upon characters created by Sylvester Stallone</b><br /><b>Story by Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker</b><br /><b>Screenplay Written by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone</b><br /><b>Directed by Steven Caple Jr.</b><br /><b>***1/2 (three and a half stars)</b><br /><b>RATED PG 13</b><br /><b><br /></b><i>This review is dedicated to my Dad, Powhatan Collins, who passed away on December 9, 2018, exactly one week after I saw this film.&nbsp;</i><br /><b><br /></b>I hated <b>"Rocky IV" (1985)</b>. Actually, I did not simply hate the film, I downright loathed it.<br /><br />Upon the time of the release of "Rocky IV," I was 16 years old. While I was certainly not astute enough at that time to even have begun to fully formulate any sense of a socio-political worldview, I instinctively knew when something just was not right and from my perspective, "Rocky IV" was as wrong as it got.<br /><br />As a film, and as the fourth installment in the on-going story of our favorite boxer from Philadelphia, "Rocky IV" fully jumped the shark, leaving anything remotely grounded in reality far in the dust. Written, directed and starring <b>Sylvester Stallone</b>, Rocky Balboa essentially became a superhero in a ridiculously misguided effort that eschewed everything regarding character development for shamelessly shallow music video editing and sequences that pitted the Italian Stallion against the Russian behemoth Ivan Drago (<b>Dolph Lundgren</b>) as Balboa attempts to avenge the death of former rival/best friend Apollo Creed (<b>Carl Weathers</b>), whom Drago killed in the boxing ring. The film culminates in a climactic battle between Balboa and the synthetically enhanced Drago, with of course, our hero pummeling Drago to the gradually and rapturously cheering of...the <i>Russians</i>?!<br /><br />The dynamic presence of <b>James Brown's "Living In America"</b> notwithstanding, I vividly remember sitting in that crowded movie theater with stomping feet and applause all around me and just seething for I just knew that I had just sat through some brain dead, rah-rah-rah, jingoistic propaganda tailor made for the hungry masses of the mid '80s Cold War occurring between the United States and Russia. It was a feature length Reagan era commercial promoting America's supposed dominance disguised as popcorn entertainment and I wanted nothing&nbsp; to do with this Right Wing fantasy film...especially one that more than conveniently had a dead Black man housed at its core.<br /><br />Now, of course, since that time, the "Rocky" series has done more than its share to return to its roots and return the character to a sense of normalcy by striping him of his wealth and bringing him back to the Philadelphia streets, concluding, such as it was, with the touching, elegiac sixth installment <b>"Rocky Balboa" (2006)</b>, again written and directed by Stallone. For me, that film, righted a lot of wrongs about the series while also giving it its much overdue finale.<br /><br />So, imagine my surprise once we arrived with <b>Ryan Coogler's "Creed" (2015)</b>, a film that we never, ever needed but one I was ecstatic to behold (and completely against all of my severe skepticism) as Coogler richly re-invented and extended the saga of Rocky, while attaching it to the beautifully moving and uncompromisingly primal story of Adonis Johnson Creed (<b>the outstanding Michael B. Jordan</b>), the son of the late Apollo Creed, produced through a long ago extramarital affair. Adonis' search for his life's meaning and significance via his familial legacy in name and boxing was a soul stirring achievement that made me believe in this series in ways that I had ceased to since <b>"Rocky II" (1979)</b>, and truth be told, by that film's end, I was ready for more.&nbsp; <br /><br />With "Creed II," as directed by Steven Caple Jr. taking over for Coogler who was ensconced in his directing duties for this year's "Black Panther," we are delivered a more than worthy second installment that comes <i>just this close </i>to reaching the heights set by "Creed." It is a film that like its predecessor focuses smartly and sharply upon character instead of spectacle, while also delivering the pulse pounding fight sequences that excite as well as enliven all of the character's motivations throughout. And even further, it achieves the near miraculous by taking what was once a cartoon in "Rocky IV" and re-envisioning that experience as one worthy of gripping, mature, and achingly humane pathos.<br /><br />Steven Caple Jr.'s "Creed II" opens three years after the events of "Creed," as Adonis Creed (again played by Michael B. Jordan) becomes the heavyweight champion fighter of the world. Now possessing wealth, fame and the love of his longtime girlfriend, the aspiring singer/musician Bianca Taylor (<b>the great Tessa Thompson</b>), Adonis proposes marriage and Bianca suggests moving to Los Angeles from Philadelphia, a decision Adonis is reluctant to make due to his familial bond with the aging Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).&nbsp; <br /><br />Meanwhile in Russia, the aging Ivan Drago (again portrayed by Dolph Lundgren), disgraced in his country from his loss to Rocky thirty three years earlier, seeks his chance for redemption via his own son, the boxing behemoth Viktor Drago (<b>Florian Munteanu</b>), by seeking a once-in-a-lifetime challenge against Adonis, a boxing event aided to fruition by the duplicitous boxing promoter Buddy Marcelle (<b>Russell Hornsby</b>).<br /><br />While Adonis itches to take on Viktor as a means to avenge his Father's death by Viktor's Father, Rocky Balboa refuses to train him, causing a rift be tween the two men who have now become surrogate Father and son towards each other. Adding additional stress to Adonis is the continuing decline of Bianca's hearing plus the birth of their daughter Amara, who may be genetically inclined to deafness.<br /><br />And now, with new adversaries to face down, will Adonis Creed rise to the legacy of his name and his Father or will he crumble under the enormity of its weight?<br /><br />Steven Caple Jr.'s "Creed II" more than delivers the good as you would expect from this series that has now surpassed 40 years in its beloved longevity, almost through a sheer force of will and unshakable perseverance...much like the characters who are the engines of this story. Caple Jr. more than picks up the hefty mantle left by Ryan Coogler as he beautifully helms an equally smart, sophisticated, and highly assured episode that honors all that has arrived before while also charting new territories that ensure the film attains newfound emotional depths.<br /><br />First of all, and especially within a cinematic year that has more than showcased a variety of examples of Black Excellence--from <b>Spike Lee's "BlacKKKlansman," Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You," George Tillman Jr.'s "The Hate U Give," Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle In Time" </b>and of course, the aforementioned "Black Panther" from Ryan Coogler--Caple Jr.'s "Creed II" is an exceedingly welcome addition as we are again given over to the supremely magnetic presence, skill, agility, athleticism and superlative acting chops of Mr. Michael B. Jordan, who commands the screen every single moment in which he appears.<br /><br />To that end, I deeply appreciated that Tessa Thompson returned for this installment, giving me, and audiences, a rare glimpse into Black love, Black relationships and Black families within mainstream films (I especially loved the moment when Adonis and Rocky playfully spar over what to name Adonis' newborn daughter), as Thompson also possesses a magnetic presence making her Johnson's equal, much like the characters they portray. Their union, so complete in struggles tension, peaks and valleys, is more than refreshing to witness. As always, representation is everything and having that opportunity to witness the continuing love and life story of Adonis Creed and Bianca Taylor, lifted me as I was proud to see another visualization of the Black Experience on screen.<br /><br />Additionally, this specific quality not only provides a nice symbiotic link to "Rocky II," as love story of Adonis and Bianca allows "Creed II" to be grounded within the same adult hopes and fears faced by Rocky and Adrian. It assures the film remains with its feet firmly planted upon the Earth as the nuances and challenges of their relationship remain palpable in their inherent drama, as well as keeping the overall humanity of the piece firmly intact.<br /><br />In fact, I would argue that the greatest feat of "Creed II" is&nbsp; how Caple Jr., the entire cast and crew have transformed the cartoon of "Rocky IV" into something with true gravity, pain and sorrow regarding the crippling sense of loss&nbsp; that exists within Adonis for certain but has spread itself around to Rocky, Adonis' stepmother Mary Anne Reed (<b>Phylicia Rashad</b>) and to even Ivan Drago himself.<br /><br />Instead of being utilized as a cheap plot point to promote a political agenda, the death and loss of Apollo Creed has, at long last with this new series, been humanized for all participants involved. In "Creed II," as Rocky painfully tries to dissuade Adonis from taking on Viktor Drago, he espouses the following concerning Ivan Drago: <b>"He's broken things in me that ain't never been fixed."</b><br /><b><br /></b>That one line is chilling to say the least and Sylvester Stallone plays it with a beautiful, natural and honest quality that flies against every artificial second of "Rocky IV" by never once suggesting the prefabricated path for revenge or the re-writing of history. This time what we are given is a moment in the life of a legendary character marked with real and tangible unhealed pain and brutal regret.<br /><br />For that matter, the character of Ivan Drago, as portrayed here in "Creed II" is a near miracle as the cartoon villainy is completely excised and what remains in a real man, broken by the defeat of his past and the ensuing humiliation that followed when his nation, friends and even his wife all walked away from him. And through the purity of Dolph Lundgren's brooding yet melancholic performance, I think we are also asked to try and discover the hint of deeply burrowed yet unending guilt stemmed from his murder of Apollo Creed.<br /><br />And from the vantage point of these two now elderly yet irrevocably damaged men, we find how their choices have unleashed consequences that have reverberated through time itself to the children; Viktor Drago, Adonis Creed and even to Rocky's long estranged son, Robert, now living in Vancouver.<br /><br />I feel that here is where Steven Caple's Jr.'s "Creed II" finds its greatest and most stirring success, because at the film's core, we have a film that is entirely about the tenuous, and again, primal relationships held between Fathers and sons. Yes, the central relationship between Adonis and Rocky&nbsp; is designed to evoke a son/Father dynamic with each other but it is also designed to echo the relationships with the Father and son each character has lost.<br /><br />Beyond that, we are dealing with the full nature of legacy on a multi-character scale, as Caple Jr. presents a deeply moving story that concerns itself and often centers itself around the plight of the sons and how they are&nbsp; each attempting to fit into the massive shoes left by their Fathers. Can the son ever indeed live up to the legacy created by the Father? Can the son ever extend beyond the Father's successes and failings? Can the son ever carve out their own legacy that honors, yet is fully independent of the Father?<br /><br />For that matter, Caple Jr. is wisely sympathetic enough to allow strong inner turmoil for both Rocky and even Ivan Drago as both men question the choices they have made that have now affected their relationships with their own children. Is Ivan forcing Viktor into a life of boxing solely to support his son's true desires or to assuage his own pain? Is Rocky making the same mistakes with Adonis that he has made with Robert, therefore risking losing another child who means the world to him?<br /><br />"Creed II" could have easily existed as a rather cheap, money grab sequel exploiting the popularity of "Rocky IV." Yet, gratefully, graciously and often grandly, Steven Caple Jr. finds ways to make sure his film is more than about what occurs in the boxing ring. That "Creed II" achieves precisely what was achieved in the original, Oscar winning <b>"Rocky" (1976)</b>, the very film that made us fall in love with the character in the first place.&nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><br />With everything being said, "Creed II" falls a&nbsp; hair short of its predecessor solely due to the fact that aspects of the story arc make the proceedings more than a bit predictable as the training sequences and fights, while well staged and presented, do indeed follow the classic "Rocky" structure of failings and comebacks, thus reducing some of the overall tension and accomplishment.<br /><br />But that is essentially a somewhat minor quibble as the depth and grace of what Steven Caple Jr. has presented is what has resonated with me so powerfully. The constant themes of perseverance, integrity, and forcing oneself to rise to the best of themselves even when feeling battered, bruised and completely down for the count still resonate powerfully and remain as relevant and as present in 2018 as they did in 1976.&nbsp;<br /><br />In fact, Steven Caple Jr.'s "Creed II" is so good that it almost makes me want to forgive "Rocky IV," because we woud not even have this new film without having had that older film...regardless of what I thought about it.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-4270099537116533382018-12-25T19:22:00.002-08:002018-12-25T19:22:12.830-08:00MAJESTIC MADNESS: a review of "The Favourite"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0waAvRKtmrk/XCAfJ-Cu4EI/AAAAAAAAOWQ/HzrCuHcJO-shDpcRC5FGzw-Mh1GNOvpfwCLcBGAs/s1600/the-favourite-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0waAvRKtmrk/XCAfJ-Cu4EI/AAAAAAAAOWQ/HzrCuHcJO-shDpcRC5FGzw-Mh1GNOvpfwCLcBGAs/s400/the-favourite-movie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>"THE FAVOURITE"<br />Screenplay Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara</b><br /><b>Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos</b><br /><b>**** (four stars)</b><br /><b>RATED R</b><br /><b><br /></b>This is emphatically NOT your parents' historical costume drama.<br /><br />Director Yorgos Lanthimos first arrived upon my cinematic radar most brazenly with his surrealistic nightmare entitled <b>"The Lobster" (2015)</b>, easily one of the very best films that I have seen in the past 10 years. It was a visionary achievement quite unlike any I had seen and confirmed that he would remain a filmmaker to watch closely in whatever he devised as a follow-up.<br /><br /><b>"The Killing Of A Sacred Deer" (2017),&nbsp;</b>while a hair muted inits impact when compared with the gut punch of "The Lobster," again provided me with that idiosyncratic dark mirror cinematic vision, where a world that looks like our own inexplicably functions within some bizarre nightmare logic that always feels as if the sky is precariously close to detaching itself from the heavens only to fall and crush us all.<br /><br />With his latest feature, "The Favourite," Lanthimos dials down the surrealism somewhat without diluting the film's raw, unapologetic power. In fact, it feels to be a much angrier film than its two predecessors, yet simultaneously playful in its fury, as we are thrown into a battle of wills between three female forces of nature, all brilliantly portrayed by three powerhouse actresses, each performing at the top of their respective games. Garish, ravenous and utterly ruthless, Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite" not only completely upends the classic costume historical drama, it fully obliterates it, ultimately creating a work that maniacally feels more honest than any stuffy, repressed feature we have witnessed before.&nbsp; <br /><br />Set in 1708, as Britain is at war with France, "The Favourite" stars<b> Olivia Coleman </b>as Queen Anne, an imposing royal figure rapidly succumbing to madness due to a chronic illness with gout as well as unimaginable grief due to 17 children she has lost over the years and whom are now all represented by 17 pet rabbits named for each of her deceased offspring.<br /><br />With a waning interest in governing and wildly increased eccentricities, including racing ducks in the palace, Queen Anne's fractured reign is truly being overseen by Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough (<b>Rachel Weisz</b>)--the Queen's primary confidant, adviser and clandestine lover. Yet, Sarah's success at complete control over the Queen are consistently thwarted by Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (<b>Nicholas Hoult</b>), a member of Parliament as well as a landowner.<br /><br /><b>Emma Stone</b> enters the film as Abigail Hill, who happens to be Sarah Churchill's destitute cousin, and is in search of employment. While first hired as a maid and subjected to all manner of menial tasks, Abigail soon learns of the Queen's affair with Sarah and devises of ways to ingratiate herself into the Queen's favor, ultimately threatening to usurp Sarah's prized status.<br /><br />What results is an escalating war in the personal balance of power between all three women within a story during which victory is forever fleeting, the spoils are bracingly elusive and the relentless pursuit of both grows tirelessly rancorous.<br /><br />Exceedingly profane, rapacious, wrathful, crude, vulgar, gluttonous, lusty, downright nasty and filled with all manner of verbal profanities from end to end, Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite" is an unrepentantly bleak comedy that not only bares its fangs viciously, it plunges its venomous bite continuously.<br /><br />I have to admit that I have often had difficulty attempting to find my way into the cinematic worlds of costume period dramas. Of course, there have been some that I have loved, <b>Milos Forman's "Amadeus" (1984) </b>existing as one of the finest I have ever been graced to witness. But generally, the ornate quality of those sorts of films, while visually dazzling, like<b> Martin Scorsese's "The Age Of Innocence" (1993)</b> for instance, I am often held at an emotional arms length, making me feel somewhat as repressed as the characters themselves.<br /><br />By astonishing contrast, Yorgos Lanthimos blasts apart any conventional sense or trappings of this particular cinematic sub genre, making "The Favourite" the first film of this sort that I have seen since <b>Sofia Coppola's </b>gorgeously unorthodox <b>"Marie Antoinette" (2006) </b>to play with the form... and ferociously so. In fact, Lanthimos's approach feels more akin to some <i>enfant terrible</i> wreaking havoc upon the most pristine snow globe by shaking it so violently that it threatens to fall apart, spilling its contents upon the floor underneath.<br /><br />Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite" gleefully thrusts the faces of his characters, as well as those of us in the audience, into the visual and emotional filth of things, making the proceedings refreshingly visceral, giving us what a film like <b>Paul Thomas Anderson's </b>visually resplendent yet emotionally cerebral <b>"Phantom Thread" (2017)</b> only hinted at.<br /><br />Working in astounding collaboration with <b>Cinematographer Robbie Ryan,</b> Lanthimos creates a pristine yet hallucinogenic landscape filled with all manner of fish eye lenses and upward camera angles designed to make the characters loom monstrously. And with that, Lanthimos then thematically and literally pulls the bottom out from his central trio of characters tirelessly, as all three are repeatedly thrown to the palace floors, dropped in mud, and splashed and splattered with water, sweat, spit, vomit and pigeon blood, fully desecrating any conceived sense of royalty. Lanthimos captures the rightful grime and filth as seen in <b>Terry Jones' "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975) </b>and peppers it in an experience that could be seen as a combination of <b>Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "All About Eve" (1950) </b>by way of <b>Stanley Kubrick, Ken Russell</b> and <b>Terry Gilliam.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Yes, "The Favourite" is <i>that</i> kind of a film.&nbsp; <br /><br />Even so, it is easily Lantimos' most accessible film since "The Lobster," and for that matter, it is even&nbsp; <i>more</i> accessible as some of his aesthetics (the bone dry line readings, the Kurbrick-ian clinical cinematography) are toned down and therefore replaced with a more energetic, naturalized style. And still, this film feels to be very much of a piece with "The Killing Of A Sacred Deer," as we are witness to the searing battle between the failures of the flesh and the iron will of the mind, and even moreso with "The Lobster," as that film is continuing to reveal itself as existing as a work so insidious that it has now made its indelible stamp upon each of his subsequent features.<br /><br />Within "The Lobster," we were given an unrepentantly frightening experience housed as a social satire regarding the nature of dating, relationships and societal pressures against being single, where in the dystopian land of this film, people who are unable to find a mate within a 30 day period will be therefore transformed into animals. This conceit led to a feature where Lanthimos was able to explore the juxtaposition of&nbsp; humans and animals, allowing us to almost magically view the human <i>inside </i>of the animal and vice versa.<br /><br />This theme continues strongly within "The Favourite" as a metaphor when thinking about Queen Anne's 17 rabbits, all named after her deceased children, and more emphatically within the film's final moments, a shattering climax (of which I, of course, would never spoil for you) albeit one that has already confounded audiences. Yet, for me, it felt to be the most perfect conclusion, as the themes of power, control, servitude and that aforementioned human/animal juxtaposition becomes even clearer, especially when dealing with the sub-human behaviors of the so-called higher species. Astoundingly merciless in its depiction as well as its warning, as I think "The Favourite" can also be viewed as a social/political allegory to our current inhumane political culture.<br /><br />Awards season is going to have a rapturously difficult time attempting to determine which leading female performances should receive celebratory notices as "The Favourite" contains three which could easily be up for recognition simultaneously. Both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone have clearly relished the opportunities to break free from their respective comfort zones (especially Stone, whom I adore but have been feeling that she has been creatively holding back for quite some time) and unlock a previously unseen level of cunning and rage while also exhibiting rich behavioral layers which allows us to not only understand them and their actions, but to miraculously obtain sympathy.<br /><br />Olivia Coleman is simply spectacular as Queen Anne, as she delivered a bravura performance utterly devoid of any stitch of vanity, as she fearlessly allows us to witness the height of royalty appear so loathsome, so infantile, so unattractive and all the while, again, we <i>understand</i>, and quite possibly sympathize with her the most.<br /><br />In the character of Queen Anne, Coleman delivers a truly harrowing portrayal of physical and undeniably debilitating mental illness, which illustrates her unraveling regarding her governing duties as well as the relationships she has cultivated with both Sarah and Abigail yet inexplicably remains razor sharp when it comes to maintaining power. This is a tightrope walk of a performance, where Coleman has to present essentially all sides of the Queen's fractured psyche plus her physical ailments constantly, and without fail as one false move would compromise the full impact. Just a remarkable and devastating work.<br /><br />While there are quite a number of films that I either have not seen or have yet to see, I am amazed at the level of greatness already screened in this cinematic year of 2018. Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite," so feral and filled with fury, is easily yet another one of this year's highest achievements.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700625798153111491.post-5176841711077132192018-12-22T16:36:00.003-08:002018-12-22T22:38:54.154-08:00SAVAGE CINEMA DECEMBER 2018: AN UPDATE...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBeY9ff4Q-U/XB8tagEJ0HI/AAAAAAAAOWE/D9Mw7wouFGsmxhrxGq7BKWBqitD9owFtACLcBGAs/s1600/dreamstime_s_54732382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="775" height="265" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBeY9ff4Q-U/XB8tagEJ0HI/AAAAAAAAOWE/D9Mw7wouFGsmxhrxGq7BKWBqitD9owFtACLcBGAs/s400/dreamstime_s_54732382.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear readers, as you may have noticed, Savage Cinema has been on an unexpected hiatus for almost one month now and I am here to give you an explanation as well as future hopes and plans.<br /><br />My productivity over the last couple of months has indeed become considerably slower than in months and even years past and I have made somewhat veiled references to "life getting in the way," so to speak. I wish for you to understand that Savage Cinema means everything in the world to me as it is indeed an extension of my being as my love of movies is part of my DNA, and now, writing about the movies has claimed an equal status. The feedback I have received has always served as the finest fuel and continued inspiration to continue writing and sharing with you. Having any sense of a&nbsp; hiatus is something I take extremely seriously and even moreso, it was an unplanned time and due to something even more important than the movies and writing and my love of both.<br /><br />This period was entirely about my family, most specifically my Dad.<br /><br />Over the entirely of Savage Cinema's existence, my Dad has been in declining health and since October of this year, very close to Halloween, I have spent considerable time travelling between Madison, WI and Chicago, IL. visiting and living with my Dad in the hospital. Thanksgiving of this year was spent directly by his side in his ICU room. I rode an ambulance with him to hospice care in early December and on the morning of December 9th at 9:40 a.m., my Dad passed away, transitioning into eternity. Visitations, the funeral and burial followed quickly afterwards and the rapid return to life and its daily responsibilities plus Christmas have followed suit as well. I have been running on adrenaline, attempting to regain some bearing and now with grief riveted by my side...well...I am hoping that you can understand.<br /><br />So, what of Savage Cinema? It will remain and I am indeed gearing up to return to the review I never had the chance to begin and in many ways, it feels like the perfect review to get my feet wet at this again. I am also planning a return to the movie theater this weekend and we'll see where this goes from this point.<br /><br />Yes, there is this part of me that wonders if writing about movies is worth anything anymore but I do think that my Dad would be saddened if he were to know that I gave up something I loved because my heart was broken. He would not wish for me to give up on something that helps to make my life complete just because his life ended. I have to keep one foot in front of the other, so to speak.<br /><br />So...for my Dad, I will keep writing, as well as for myself and for you... please stay tuned for writing will arrive soon...<br /><br />Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.<br /><br />I love you, Dad. I'll keep writing. I'll keep trying.Scott Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01254233967928272389noreply@blogger.com0